Zafar sisters, Tayyab, Zaman in Circuit III finals

KARACHI: Three of the four players who have stormed into the men’s and women’s finals are on course for a double as curtain falls on the $15,000 Pakistan Squash Circuit III at the PN Roshan Khan-Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Wednesday.

Fourth seed Tayyab Aslam took a sweet revenge of his last loss when he accounted for fifth seed Farhan Mehboob after the latter excused for cramps trailing two games down and 1-4 in the third on the penultimate day to advance into the final.

Aslam, who won the match 11-1, 11-4, 4-1 (retired) in 16-minutes, had lost to Mehboob in the final of Circuit II at Lahore recently.

He is now slated to take on second seed Farhan Zaman in the title clash following his straight 14-12, 11-6, 11-7 triumph over sixth seed Israr Ahmed in 38-minutes in the other semi-final to live up to his billing.

Meanwhile, Zafar sisters — top seed Faiza and second seed Madina — set a title clash after winning their semi-finals in contrasting styles.

While Faiza whipped qualifier Komal Khan 11-6, 11-5, 11-0 in 14-minutes, the latter survived scare after her eighth seed opponent Riffat Khan retired hurt in the fifth and decisive game. Madina won 3-11, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 7-2 (retired) in 37-minutes.

Farhan Zaman and Faiza annexed men’s and women’s respective titles in Circuit I while Madina emerged victorious in Circuit II.

Results:
Semi-finals (men’s):
Tayyab Aslam bt Farhan Mehboob 11-1, 11-4, 4-1 (retired); Farhan Zaman bt Israr Ahmed 14-12, 11-6, 11-7

Semi-finals (women’s):
Faiza Zafar bt Komal Khan 11-6, 11-5, 11-0; Madina Zafar bt Riffat Khan 3-11, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 7-2 (retired).

Wednesday’s fixtures:
Faiza Zafar v Madina Zafar (women’s final) at 3pm Tayyab Aslam v Farhan Zaman (men’s final) at 3.30pm.— Anwar Zuberi

Naseem, Haris bow out in knockout round

KARACHI: Pakistan’s campaign in the IBSF under-21 snooker championship came to an end in Jinan, China, when the two surviving cueists, Naseem Akhtar and Haris Tahir, fell one after the other in knockout round on Tuesday.

Last year’s world under-18 champion Naseem, who squandered his title in the preceding event, went down fighting to Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka Wai in the fully stretched last-32 round after enjoying 3-2 lead in the match.

Wai hammered three elegant breaks of 76, 70 and 83 in the first, sixth and seventh frames that titled the match in his favour. Naseem also chalked up a break of 62 in the fourth frame. Wai won the battle 76-9, 22-60, 80-14, 0-75, 37-95, 98-1, 87-0.

On the other hand, Tahir recovered from 2-3 down to post 4-3 victory over Iran’s Mehran Ershadi to cruise into last-16 with the scores being 81-34, 80-13, 7-87, 13-61, 6-107, 90-13, 65-7

However, his dream to go beyond pre quarters was dashed as he fell prey to China’s Wu Yize who conjured up 4-1 victory. The Chinese triumph revolves around century break of 113 in the last frame and another of 96 in the fourth. The scores were 32-79, 71-35, 68-39, 96-8, 121-0.

It is pertinent to mention that both the Pakistani cueists made exit in quarter-finals of the under-18 competition.

Results:
Last-32 round:

Cheung Ka Wai (Hong Kong) bt Mohammad Naseem Akhtar 4-3 (76-9, 22-60, 80-14, 0-75, 37-95, 98-1, 87-0); Haris Tahir bt Mehran Ershadi (Iran) 4-3 (81-34, 80-13, 7-87, 13-61, 6-107, 90-13, 65-7).

Pre quarter-final:
Wu Yize (China) bt Haris Tahir 4-1 (32-79, 71-35, 68-39, 96-8, 121-0).—Sports Reporter

Pakistan team’s departure to Bulawayo delayed

LAHORE: Pakistan’s departure to Bulawayo from Harare for the upcoming One-day International series was delayed due to financial issues being faced by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), Dawn learnt on Tuesday.

The Sarfraz Ahmed-led side, which won the tri-nation Twenty20 International series including the hosts and Australia after beating the latter in the final on Sunday, was scheduled to fly to Bulawayo on Tuesday.

Reportedly, the reason behind the departure’s cancellation is non-payment by ZC to the hotel in Bulawayo which was set to host the visitors.

However, A Pakistan Cricket Board official said the issue would be solved soon and the Pakistan team will travel to Bulawayo on Wednesday. It was also learnt that the Pakistan squad practiced in the nets at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday after the postponement.—Sports Reporter

Ronaldo leaving Real to join Juventus

TURIN: Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving Real Madrid to join Italian club Juventus, bringing to an end a glittering nine-year spell in Spain.

Real said on Tuesday they have reached an agreement with Juventus after a request by Ronaldo.

The 33-year-old Ronaldo is currently on vacation in Greece after Portugal’s elimination from the World Cup. Juventus president Andrea Agnelli flew out on Tuesday to meet the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 from Manchester United and was the Spanish club’s all-time leading scorer with 451 goals in 438 matches. He helped the club win four Champions League titles beating Juventus in the final in 2017 and also won the league and cup twice each.—AP

Omega Sports, Arambagh Club win

KARACHI: Omega Sports outplayed Karachi Colts 42-19 while Arambagh Gulshan thrashed Clifton Sports 56-32 in the 13th NBP Cup basketball tournament here on Tuesday.

In the first match, Riaz Ahmed scored 13 points and Tafsheen scored 9 while Kenneth Johnson scored six to lead Omega Sports to victory. For Karachi Colts, Haider Shah (6) and Zain Mehdi (5) played well.

In the second match, Zainul Abedeen (15) and Raj Kumar (12) were the main contributors for Arambagh Gulshan who proved too strong for their opponents. Jaffer Hussain also scored ten points. For Clifton Sports, Sameer Ahmed and Saad Khattak scored ten points each. —Agencies

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2018