Naseem, Haris tame rivals to enter last-16

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Naseem Akhtar comfortably crossed first hurdle by outplaying New Zealand’s Denin Bunn straight in his last group A tie to cruise into pre quarter-final of the IBSF world under-18 snooker championship in Jinan, China, on Wednesday.

According to results, Akhtar, who is also defending champion, carved out an emphatic 63-12, 64-14, 97-0 victory over his opponent to top the group winning all his three matches.

Haris Tahir, losing finalist of the Asian under-21 snooker championship this year, also advanced into the last-16 round after finishing runner-up in group E with three wins and a defeat. He sent German cueist Dumut Dikme packing 102-17, 28-61, 87-52, 84-11 before losing to Ireland’s Aaron Hill in the 2-3 (52-37, 76-33, 41-70, 13-57, 61-28).

Debutant Umar Khan, meanwhile, crashed out after winning one and losing three games.

Results:

Mohammad Naseem Akhtar bt Denin Bunn (New Zealand) 3-0 (63-12, 64-14, 97-0); Haris Tahir bt Dumut Dikme (Germany) 3-1 (102-17, 28-61, 87-52, 84-11); Umar Khan bt Nick Jansen (Belgium) 3-1 (20-60, 61-34, 63-59, 69-52); Aaron Hill (Ireland) bt Haris Tahir 3-2 (52-37, 76-33, 41-70, 13-57, 61-28); Ze Tao Luo bt Umar Khan 3-1 (67-35, 32-69, 55-42, 69-24).—Sports Reporter

Lyon objects to ICC’s decision on stump mic

SYDNEY: Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon has spoken out against the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to broadcast sound from the stump microphone at all times and the introduction of audible obscenities as a new offence.

The ICC announced four new violations into its revised code of conduct on Monday — attempting to gain an unfair advantage (cheating, other than ball-tampering), personal abuse, audible obscenity and disobeying an umpire’s instructions.

The governing body also introduced harsher sanctions for ball-tampering at its five-day annual conference in Dublin.

“I totally agree with the ball-tampering stuff, but to be honest with you, I’m not the biggest fan of the stump mics being turned up,” Lyon said on The Unplayable Podcast. “I think what’s on the field needs to stay on the field.”

The 30-year-old believes players often curse at their own failings under pressure, which might not be the best example for young fans. “I’m not saying swearing is OK, but when you’re competing at the highest level and under extreme amounts of pressure, sometimes you miss your skill and therefore an expletive may come out.”—Reuters

Memorial tennis in Karachi from July 16

KARACHI:The 2nd EAM & SEM Memorial Tennis Championship 2018 will be played here at Karachi Gymkhana from July 16-22, Sindh Tennis Association announced today.

Pakistan’s number one tennis Aqeel Khan and defending champion Ushna Suhail have confirmed their participation in the prestigious weeklong championship. Hania Naveed, Zoha Asim, Yasir khan, Nouman Aftab, Mariyam Mirza have also confirmed participation.

The championship will be held under the auspices of Pakistan Tennis Federation and is ranked as grade one tournament. Khalid Rehmani, SVP of Pakistan Tennis Federation, said the total prize money of the tournament has been raised to 650,000 which is Rs 100,000 higher than the last year.

The events to be contested include mens singles, ladies singles, juniors u-18, boys u-16, u-14, u-12 as well as under-10 girls competition, mens doubles and Seniors 35-plus doubles.

The qualifying rounds shall be played on July 16.

The last date of entry is July 14. Entries can be sent tat sindhtennis@gmail.com or at 0300-3607209.—Agencies

Afghan T20 league outsourced to Indian company

KARACHI: The inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL), scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the month of October, has been outsourced to an Indian company which will look into the affairs of the proposed league.

A key Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) official confirmed this development while talking over the phone from Kabul. “Yes, we have handed over everything relevant to the APL to an Indian company,” an ACB official said.

“The company is working on every aspect of the league and will finalise the plan with the ACB chairman very soon,” the ACB official added.

On the other hand, the chief executive officer of the ACB Shafiq Stanikzai, when contacted didn’t respond to the query regarding the outsourcing of the APL.—Muhammad Asif Khan

NBP basketball draws today

KARACHI: The draws of the 13th National Bank basketball tournament will be taken out at the Arambagh courts under the supervision of the Karachi Basketball Association (KBBA) President Ghulam Mohammad on Thursday evening. NBP’s Azmatullah Khan will be the chief guest on the occasion. Osman Sports Club, first youth outfit, will also be taking part tournament.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2018