Bounce, Alphas win Commissioner Cup titles

KARACHI: Bounce Club overcame a stiff challenge from Omega Club to win the 4th Commissioner Cup boys event while Alphas Club beat Neighbourhood Club 13-10 to clinch the girls title here at the jam-packed Arambagh-Abdul Nasir courts on Sunday evening.

Syed Mubashir (18 points) and Zia Ahmed (13) and Ammad Ali (10) scored superbly for Bounce Club while Abbas Abid scored 16 points and Ali Murtaza 10 points for the Omega Club. Fajr Fatima and Abbas Abid were declared best players of the respective tournaments.

Commissioner Karachi Naved Ahmed Shaikh was the chief guest in the final and distributed the prizes. Speaking on the occasion, he said that sportspersons are great people and ambassadors for any country and he has been delighted with the high standard of the sports displayed in the Cup event.

“I promise all sportspersons in the metropolis that we will restore all sports activities fully as soon as the Covid-19 situation gets better,” said the Commissioner.

He also assured to sponsor the three-division basketball series in interior of Sindh later this year. Naved Shaikh praised the constant efforts of KBBA is promoting sand betterment of the game in the city and assured the association of all assistance in the future events.

KBBA chief Ghulam Mohammad thanked the Commissioner for his support and recalled how he had also worked tremendously for sports during his stint in 1998 as Assistant Commissioner in the city.

DC South Irshad Ali Sodhar, under whose leadership historic Arambagh courts were beautifully renovated, also spoke on the occasion and said more sports facilities will be provided in the region.

A number of prominent sports and social personalities witnessed the final.—Agencies

Unbeaten Imaad shines in scrabble qualifiers

KARACHI: The final qualifiers for the selection of Pakistan team for the Gladiators WESPA Youth cup came to an end at Pharmevo guesthouse on Sunday.

It was the second and final leg of the qualifiers. Twelve of the top youth players (under 18 years of age) were participating in a two day event which was played on a double round robin league followed by two games on king-of-the-hill format.

The reigning national champion Syed Imaad Ali was head and shoulders above anyone else and steamrolled his way to the top slot. Imaad remained unbeaten for the first 14 games and finished the event on top with 21 wins out of 24 games with a spread of 2545. Imaad averaged an astonishing 479 points per game

The most experienced player in the team and last year’s national champion Hasham Hadi Khan was second with 17 wins and a spread of 1703

Monis Khan finished 3rd with 16 wins and a spread of 88.

The tournament was played in exactly the same format and standard that will be used in the Gladiators WESPA Youth Cup starting next week. The chief guest Hassan Omar of Quetta Gladiators distributed the team kits to the selected players.

The trophy for the Gladiators WESPA Youth Cup was also unveiled by the chief guest. The championship formerly known as the World Youth Scrabble Championship will be played online from Jan 22. 96 players from 16 countries spread over five continents are taking part.—Agencies

National junior tennis starts

LAHORE: Eleven matches were decided on the first day of the Millat Tractors National Junior Tennis Championship here at the Punjab Tennis Academy Bagh-e-Jinnah on Monday.

Results (Boys U-18): Faizan Fayyaz bt Ali Jawad 6-0, 6-0; Haider Ali Rizwan bt Shehryar Anees 6-0, 6-1; Ghazi Ahmed bt Ismail Ahmed Khan 6-2, 6-3; Farman Shakeel bt Zaeem Ghafoor 6-1, 6-1; Nalain Abbas bt Aabis Reebal 6-0, 6-0; Ahtesham Arif bt Moavia Butt 6-1, 6-1; Mahatir Mohammad bt Muneeb Majeed 6-4, 6-1; Hassan Ali bt Hamza Ali Rizwan 5-7, 6-2, 6-1; Bilal Farooq bt Ibrahim Suleman 6-0, 6-3; Ahtesham Humayun bt Husnain Ali 6-1, 6-2; Asad Zaman bt Saeed Suleman 6-1, 6-2.—Sports Reporter

Zainab faces Noorul Huda in final

HYDERABAD: Zainab Khan of Pakistan Army and Noorul Huda of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited qualified for the final of the All-Pakistan Women’s Squash Championship here at Hyderabad Gymkhana on Monday.

In the first semi-final, Zainab beat ZTBL’s Roshna Mehboob 11-4, 5-11, 11-5, 14-12 while Noorul Huda defeated Komal Khan of Wapda 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 in their last-four clash that lasted 23 minutes.

The final will be played on Tuesday.—Staff Reporter

Punjab Hockey League from 23rd

LAHORE: The inaugural Quaid-e-Azam Inter-division Punjab Hockey League under the auspices of the Sports Board Punjab will be held in Lahore from Jan 23 to Feb 5. Trials to select the teams in all divisions of the province started on Monday.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2021