Omar Khalid leads at President SGA Cup

KARACHI: Brilliant 16-year-old golfer Omar Khalid fired an impressive round of 75 to lead the field on the opening day of the 10th President Sindh Golf Association (SGA) Cup here on Friday.

Omar braved scorching heat as he sank two birdies to take a one-shot lead in the amateurs’ category of the three-day tournament ahead of the duo of former national champion Muhammad Ali Hai and Waqas Burki (76).

Ali, who is also a former Bangladesh national champion, is making his comeback to competitive golf with the President SGA Cup. He recovered from back-to-back bogeys on the first two holes to finish the front nine at 39.

Omar, who is the reigning Faldo Series Pakistan Under-16 champion, had a double bogey on the 2nd hole but recovered by making a birdie on the 5th finishing the front nine at 37. He had three bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to finish with 38.

Also in contention for the title was the talented Waqas Burki, who shared the second spot on the leader-board with Ali Hai.

Meanwhile, in the ladies category Humera Khalid shot 80 to take a one-shot lead over Aanya Farooq. They are followed by Tabassum Sharif, Nida Haq and Tahira Raza. In the juniors’ category, Yashal Shah won the title after carding 73. Sameer Saeed was the runner-up. Ashas Amjad won the net title while Sameer Feroze was runner-up. In the veterans’ category, Col Shahid Mahboob was leading with a score of 41 after the first nine holes.


Tsitsipas reaches Hamburg quarters

HAMBURG: Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the quarter-finals of the Hamburg European Open by beating Pablo Cuevas 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday as he continues his warm-up for the French Open.

In a rematch of his only clay-court final win, Tsitsipas saved four break points at 4-4 in the first set and another at 5-5 before breaking Cuevas to take a 1-0 lead. He extended his unbeaten record against the Uruguayan to 3-0.

They last met when Tsitsipas beat Cuevas 6-3, 7-6 (4) in Estoril in May 2019 for his only tour-level title to date on clay. The Greek player, ranked sixth in the world, is building momentum on clay after losing in the first round in Rome last week.

His quarter-final opponent is Dusan Lajovic, who swept past eighth-seeded Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-2 in their second-round match. Since the tour restarted amid the coronavirus pandemic, Khachanov has gone four tournaments without making the quarter-finals.

After knocking out top-seeded Daniil Medvedev in the first round, France’s Ugo Humbert followed it up with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jiri Vesely to reach his first career ATP quarter-final on clay.

He will face Casper Ruud after the Norwegian won 6-3, 6-3 against the sixth-seeded Fabio Fognini, who was champion in Hamburg in 2013.—AP


Faisal to rejoin Balochistan squad as head coach

LAHORE: Within 24 hours of sidelining Balochistan’s head coach Faisal Iqbal from the post, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the former Test cricketer to rejoin the team after he submitted the NOC from his former employer PIA.

“Faisal Iqbal will rejoin the Balochistan cricket team for the National T20 Cup on Saturday after he was issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by his parent organisation, Pakistan International Airlines, on Friday,” a PCB press release stated.

Faisal is already in isolation in Muridke and ready to join the squad in Multan. Balochistan will play their tournament opener against Sindh on Oct 1.—Sports Reporter


National triathlon to be held in Lahore

LAHORE: The National Triathlon Championship will be held in Lahore from Oct 15 to 18 with all the affiliated units participating in the event.

Secretary Pakistan Triathlon Federation Amir Bhatti said that the federation had decided to start the activities after the permission of the government for holding the events. It had also instructed all the units, namely Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, KP, Islamabad, Police, Railways to start the preparations for the said event.

On the performance of the players, he said the best Pakistan teams would be selected to participate in the Asian level events to be held in 2020-21.

The triathlon sport comprises three different sports namely athletics, swimming and cycling.—Sports Reporter


Masha United win

LAHORE: Masha United beat Hazara Coal Company 2-0 in the 12th Pakistan Football Federation League (PFFL) qualification round that resumed here at the Railways Stadium on Friday.

After Mohammad Zunair broke the ice in the 21st minute of the Group ‘C’ match, Hassan Raza doubled the lead in the 41st.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2020

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