Commonwealth Games Archives

Shajar Abbas finishes last in 200m final of CWG athletics

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s ace sprinter Shajar Abbas failed to mark an impression as he finished last in the final sprint of the men’s 200m at the Commonwealth Games, here on Saturday.

Shajar crossed the finish line in 21.18 seconds which proved insufficient to earn him any medal in the competition.

Whereas, Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago bagged the gold medal in the race as he finished first in a record 19.80 while Zharnel Hughes of England claimed silver in 20.12 and Joseph Amoah of Ghana grabbed bronze in 20.49.

Earlier on Friday, the Pakistani athlete clocked 20.89 in the 200m semi-final and finished third in his heat to qualify for the final.

Despite an upsetting outcome in the final, Shajar became the first Pakistani athlete to qualify for the Athletics semi-final after 30 years.

READ: Sharif Tahir bags third silver for Pakistan in CWG Wrestling

Sharif Tahir bags third silver for Pakistan in CWG Wrestling

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistani wrestler Muhammad Sharif Tahir missed out on gold as he lost to India’s Naveen Naveen in the final bout of the Men’s Freestyle 74kg category finishing with a silver medal in the Wrestling event of the Commonwealth Games 2022, here on Saturday.

With the defeat, Sharif joined the likes of Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar, two other compatriots who claimed a silver medal for Pakistan in the competition.

India’s Naveen stunned Sharif with his moves and scored nine straight technical points to secure gold for his country in the action-packed final bout between the arch-rival wrestlers.

Earlier in the semifinal, Sharif pounded New Zealand’s Cole Hawkins by 11-0 to qualify for the final.

As a result, Pakistan’s overall medal tally in the Commonwealth Games has risen to seven, with three bronze, three silver, and the lone gold by weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt.

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India stun England in a thriller to qualify for CWG 2022 Final

BIRMINGHAM: Left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana shone with a blistering half-century before the bowlers held their nerves calm to hand India a thrilling victory over the hosts England in the first semi-final of Commonwealth Games 2022.

Following their victory over the tournament’s favourites England in the semi-final, India have confirmed at least a silver medal in the ongoing Games.

The Asian side will compete in the gold medal bout tomorrow and await either New Zealand or Australia in the final.

In the match, left-handed opener Mandhana led the way with a quickfire half-century while Jemimah Rodrigues chipped in with an unbeaten 44 to aid India to a competitive total of 164/5 in the allotted 20 overs.

Mandhana top-scored with 61 off 32 balls, laced with eight boundaries and three sixes, while Rodrigues scored 44 off 31 deliveries including seven boundaries.

For England, Freya Kemp was the pick amongst the bowlers as she claimed two wickets, while Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver made one scalp each.

Set to chase 165, the hosts of the Games England, fell just four runs short of the victory as they could score 160/6 in the allotted overs.

The hosts batters displayed a dismal start right from the start as the openers failed to provide a solid foundation, while the middle-order remained a touch too slow in the proceedings, costing England to keep their gold expedition alive.

English skipper Sciver top-scored for the side with 41, however, faced 43 deliveries in course of her defending knock. Wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones, on the other hand, followed back with 31 off 24 deliveries but remained unlucky as she lost her wicket in a run-out.

Sneh Rana shone with the ball for India, taking two wickets and bowling a brilliant final over, defending 14 runs, while Deepti Sharma struck out a batter.

READ: Sharif downs New Zealand’s Hawkins, inches closer to gold in CWG

Sharif downs New Zealand’s Hawkins, inches closer to gold in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan wrestler Sharif Tahir has moved one victory away from claiming a gold medal in the Men’s Freestyle 74kg Wrestling in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Young wrestler Sharif displayed sheer dominance over his New Zealand opponent Cole Hawkins and qualified for the final of the 74kg category.

In a one-sided semi-final, Sharif kept Hawkins on the back for the majority of the clash before running away with a consolidating 11-0 victory.

Following his qualification for the gold medal bout, Sharif has confirmed at least a silver medal for Pakistan.

Other national wrestlers Ali Asad and Tayab Raza, on the other hand, failed to produce a similar outcome in their respective semi-finals as they suffered crushing defeats from Indian and Canadian opponents respectively. The two wrestlers will now compete for the Bronze medal in the third-place clash.

As a result, Pakistan’s overall medal tally has risen to six as national wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar earlier bagged a silver apiece, while Judo player Shah Hussain Shah and wrestler Inayatullah bagged a bronze each. Weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt, on the other hand, thus remained the only gold medalist for Pakistan in the ongoing games.

READ: Sharif, Ali qualify for CWG Wrestling semi-finals in respective categories

Sharif thrashes Vake to storm into CWG Wrestling quarter-final

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler Muhammad Sharif Tahir outclassed his Tonga opponent John Vake in the Men’s Freestyle 74kg Round of 16 Wrestling event in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

In a one-sided Round of 16 clash, Sharif pounded on his Tonga opponent and handed him a crushing 11-0 defeat.

Following this resounding victory, Sharif has moved a step closer to his medal expedition as he booked a quarter-final spot.

Other wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar claimed a silver each in the 86kg and 125kg respectively on Friday, while Inayatullah bagged a bronze in the 65kg category.

Following the wrestlers’ remarkable performance in the Games on Friday, Pakistan’s medal tally has risen to five. Earlier, Shah Hussain Shah claimed bronze in Judo, while Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt remained the only athlete thus far to claim Gold in the ongoing global event.

READ: ‘International training would benefit me’ CWG silver medalist Zaman Anwar

‘International training would benefit me’ CWG silver medalist Zaman Anwar

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler and a silver medalist in the Men’s Freestyle 125kg Wrestling in the Commonwealth Games 2022, Zaman Anwar claimed that international-level training would help him.

Zaman, who lost the gold medal match to Canada’s Amarveer Dhesi, spoke with this reporter on the sidelines of the ongoing games and lamented the absence of international training opportunities.

“I’m gutted on not being able to win the gold but I’m thankful to Almighty Allah for competing in the final. My opponent was an Olympian but the match remained quite competitive,” Zaman stated.

“I was well prepared but it would have been beneficial to have international style training. The rival players get international training while we get up from our homes and come to compete,” he lamented.

The finalist of the 125 kg wrestling then went on to mention his Indian counterpart and asserted that they train in foreign countries which helped them shine on the international stage.

“International training is very important. Indian players trained in Kazakhstan and Australia,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that national wrestler Zaman suffered a frustrating 2-9 defeat in the gold medal bout of the 125kg at the hands of Amarveer and secured silver.

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Inayat downs Connelly to claim second Bronze for Pakistan in CWG 2022

BIRMINGHAM: Young national wrestler Inayatullah outclassed Scotland’s Ross Connelly in the Men’s Freestyle 65kg Wrestling contest and bagged a collectively second bronze medal for the country in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Inayat after suffering a frustrating defeat at the hands of Canadian wrestler Lachlan McNeil in the semi-final, made no mistake in the medal bout as he bounced back to thump his Scottish opponent to bag the medial.

The 20-year-old wrestler took only less than four minutes to thump Connelly by the scores of 4-0 to claim the second bronze for Pakistan in the ongoing Games.

Besides, Inayat, another national wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar, have already booked at least a silver each as the two wrestlers have been qualified for the finals of 86 and 125kg respectively.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has thus far claimed a total of three medals in the ongoing competition as Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt and Shah Hussain Shah claimed a gold and a bronze in weightlifting and Judo respectively.

READ: Pakistan Table Tennis team departs for Islamic Games

Inam pounds South Africa’s Lessing, inches closer to gold in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler Inam Butt has moved one victory away from claiming a gold medal in the Men’s Freestyle 86kg Wrestling in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Last year’s gold medalist at the Games, Inam has now moved within a victory to claim his second consecutive gold as he outclassed his South African opponent to storm into the final.

In a competitive semi-final, Inam held his nerves calm to edge past South Africa’s Edward Lessing 5-3 to confirm at least a silver medal for Pakistan.

Besides Inam, another national Wrestler Zaman Anwar shone in his semi-final encounter against England’s Mandhir Kooner as he defeated the latter 5-0 to breeze into the final.

Young wrestler Inayatullah, however, suffered a frustrating defeat at the hands of Canadian wrestler Lachlan McNeil, who ran away with the victory with the scores of 11-0.

The 20-year-old wrestler, however, will compete for the Bronze with Scotland’s Ross Connelly, who lost to India’s Bajrang Punia in the first semi-final.

READ:

Inam sinks Lawrence to book CWG semi-final spot in Wrestling

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler Inam Butt outclassed his Australian opponent Jayden Lawrence to storm into the semi-finals of Men’s Freestyle Wrestling in the 86kg category on Friday.

Inam, who had a flying start to his Commonwealth Games campaign as he thrashed his Scottish opponent Kieran Malone 11-0 in the Round of 16, further carried on his scintillating run as he downed Australia’s Lawrence in the quarter-final.

In a rather competitive quarter-final clash, Inam edged past Lawrence 8-3 to move one victory within bagging a medal for the nation.

The flag-bearer for Pakistan in this year’s games, Inam will now lock horns with South African wrestler Edward Lessing in a bid to confirm a silver in the competition.

Besides Inam, another national Wrestler Zaman Anwar shone in his semi-final encounter against England’s Mandhir Kooner as he defeated the latter 5-0 to confirm at least a silver medal for the country.

Young wrestler Inayatullah, however, suffered a frustrating defeat at the hands of Canadian wrestler Lachlan McNeil, who ran away with the victory with the scores of 11-0.

The 20-year-old wrestler, however, will compete for the Bronze with England’s George Ramm, who lost to India’s Bajrang Punia in the first semi-final.

READ: Pakistan’s Inayatullah, Inam star in CWG Wrestling events

Javeria responds to trolls aimed at women cricketers for CWG debacle

BIRMINGHAM: National cricketer Javeria Khan lashed out at trollers for slamming women players and hurling derogatory criticism over the players’ private lives following the women’s team’s unsuccessful journey at the Commonwealth Games.

Javeria shared a message on Thursday on his Twitter account in response to widespread trolling and censuring of the women’s cricket team on social media.

“Those who do not follow women’s cricket in Pakistan consider it their inalienable right to slam the player if they underperform,” read the message that she shared on her Twitter.

To whom it may concern ! pic.twitter.com/91FXD70dFP

— Javeria Khan (@ImJaveria) August 4, 2022

The 34-year-old opined that while constructive criticism was always welcome but resorting to vile comments and attacking players’ private lives was outrageous and unwarranted.

“Teams, athletes and systems do not grow overnight. This is an evolutionary process that takes time. Women’s team needs your support and constructive criticism,” her message concluded.

The top-order batter is not a part of team’s squad for the Commonwealth Games.

It is pertinent to mention here that the national women’s side lost all three matches during the ongoing event to sit at the bottom of their group standings.

READ: Pakistan Army congratulates CWG medalists Nooh, Hussain