Brilliant Imaad wins Universal Trophy Scrabble

KARACHI: The reigning youth world champion Syed Imaad Ali won the Universal Trophy Scrabble Tournament played at the Generation”s School South Campus. The tournament acted as the qualifier to pick the Pakistan team for the WESPA Youth Cup which is being played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November.

Imaad who won the WESPA Youth cup last year has a great chance to become the first player in history to defend his title since he is only 14 years old and is eligible to play at least four more years before he turns 18.

Imaad dominated proceedings on the second and final day in such a way that he was declared the winner with one match to go. Imaad finished the tournament with a 14-4 win record and a spread of 1710.

Reigning national champion Hasham Hadi Khan finished second with 12 wins and a spread of 1004.

Ali Rashid made a strong comeback on the second day to clinch the 3rd spot with a 11-7 record and a spread of 770 while Sohaib Sanaullah slipped to the 4th position with the same win record but a lower spread of 493.

In Division B Azlan Qazi dominated with 14 wins and a spread of 635 while Shan e Abbas was the runner up with 12 wins and Anas Farhan finished 3rd with 11 wins. 7 years old Bilal Asher stunned everyone by clinching a spot in the team while Kamran Ahmed took the 5th and final spot in the team from Division B.—Agencies

Finch battling to be fit for Sri Lanka T20

PERTH: Limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is battling to be fit for Australia’s opening Twenty20 against Sri Lanka after picking up a side strain.

The top-order batsman is sitting out Victoria’s ongoing Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia in a bid to be ready for the first of three games against the Sri Lankans in Adelaide on Sunday.

“It started out as a little back niggle and it’s just a little tear in my side. So hopefully not too long. It’s been a week since I did it,” Finch told Perth radio 6PR at the weekend.

He said he hoped to play a one-day game for his state on Wednesday. “But if I can still feel it and it’s a little niggle there, I think the medical staff will probably take the conservative route.”

If fit, Finch is expected to open the Australian innings with David Warner, before Steve Smith comes in at first drop.

After Adelaide, Australia face the Lasith Malinga-led Sri Lankans in Brisbane and Melbourne before Pakistan arrive for T20s in Sydney, Canberra and Perth.—AFP

Singapore stay on World T20 path

DUBAI: Navin Param smashed a match-winning 72 as Singapore stayed on course for the 2020 World Twenty 20 Cup with a five-wicket win over Bermuda in qualifying on Sunday.

Param’s runs came off 41 balls as his team chased down their target of 150 for their third win in three matches.

Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea (PNG) defeated Namibia by 81 runs with Tony Ura (71) and captain Assad Vala (48) putting on 125 for the first wicket. PNG finished on 197 for seven after their 20 overs. Oman eased past Hong Kong by seven wickets while Canada got their campaign underway with a 53-run win over Jersey.

In all, 14 nations are vying for six places at next year’s World T20 in Australia by playing in the round-robin qualifiers in the UAE.—AFP

Taha, Abubakar triumph in KC tennis

KARACHI: Talented Taha Aman was extended by hardworking Rayyan Jawad in the U-18 quarters before winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 while Abubakar Talha, Pakistan’s number one one and top seed in boys under-10 quarter-finals, cruised past Ibrahim Sajjad at the Karachi Club National Senior & Juniors Tennis Championship at here on Monday.

Results:

U-10 Quarter-final: Abubakar Talha (Lahore) bt Ibrahim Sajjad 4-0, 4-2.

U -10 Doubles (2nd Round): Sameer/Zayd bt M Ali Admani/Imran 4-1, 4-0.

U -14 Doubles (1st round): Kashan/Hasnain bt Rayan/ Daniyal 4-2, 4-2.

Boy 18 Doubles (quarter-final): Ibrahim/Abdulllah bt Hasheesh/Mahatir 6-4 6-3; Zubair/Rayan bt Ghufran/Houd 6-2 6-2; Noor-e-Mustafa/Ali bt Hasain/Kashan 6-2, 6-2.

Men’s doubles (quarter-finals): Hasheesh/Kamran bt Nameer/Parbat 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Junior U-18 Singles (quarter-finals) Taha bt Rayyan 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2019