Punjab Open reaches semis stage

LAHORE: Twenty-four more matches were decided in different categories as the Sports Board Punjab Open Tennis Championship reached the semi-finals stage here at the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association courts, Bagh-i-Jinnah on Friday.

In the men’s singles, Ahmed Kamil, Hassan Riaz, Imran Bhatti, and Mahatir Mohammad won their respective quarter-finals. Barring Imran who struggled to beat Mian Bilal in a three-setter, all other three quarter-finals remained one-sided affairs.

The quarter-finals of boys U-18 singles and doubles, U-14 and U-12 were also decided.

Results:

Men’s singles (quarter-finals): Ahmed Kamil bt Hasheesh Kumar 6-4, 6-2; Hassan Riaz bt Abdul Hanan Khan 7-6, 6-3; Imran Bhatti bt Mian Bilal 6-2, 5-7, 10-5; Mahatir Mohammad bt Shaeel Durab 7-5, 6-2

Boys U-18 singles (quarter-finals): Faizan Fayyaz bt Shaeel Durab 8-4; Mahatir Mohammad bt Ahtesham Arif 8-0; Hasheesh Kumar bt Hanzla Anwar 8-0

U-18 boys doubles (quarter-finals): Shaeel Durab/Nalain Abbas bt Muneeb Majeed/Shehryar Anees 4-2, 4-2; Moavia Butt/Husnain bt Zaeem Ghafoor/Arman Kamran 5-3, 4-1; Hasheesh Kumar/Asad bt Hassan Ali/Faizan Fayyaz 5-4, 5-4

Boys U-14 (pre-quarterfinals): Moavia Butt bt Abdullah Pirzada 7-6; Ameer Mazari bt Aized Khalil 6-2; Omer Jawad bt Abubakar Khalil 6-0; Asad Zaman bt Harris Bajwa 6-0

Boys U-12: (pre-quarterfinals): Ameer Mazari bt Xeerak Mustafa 6-1; Samer Zaman bt Ali Usman 6-0

Seniors 35-plus doubles: Tariq Sadiq/Kashif Rehmat bt Mehboob Waheed/Mohammad Yousuf 6-1, 6-2.—Sports Reporter

National AFL Championship to be held in March

ISLAMABAD: Australian Football League Pakistan (AFL) will be holding the National Australian Football League Championship in Islamabad in the last week of March. This was decided in a meeting of the AFL held here recently.

The meeting was presided over by AFL President Sardar Tariq Mehmood Khan and was attended by representatives of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Azad Jammu Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad and various other clubs.

Secretary General, AFL Pakistan, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali headed the meeting and presented its one-year report.

President Sardar Tariq Mehmood Khan later said various issues were discussed in the meeting including holding of the National Australian Football League Championship and amendments to the current AFL constitution.

He said that National Australian Football League Championship will be played in the last week of March which would feature ten leading teams from across the country including two teams from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad.—Agencies

Kashmir Day Ranking Beach Tennis from Feb 6

KARACHI: The Karachi Tennis Association will organise KTA Kashmir Day Ranking Beach Tennis Championships on Feb 6 at the Clifton beach.

The event is being supported by Sindh Sports Board and Pakistan Tennis Federation.

The environment committee of Sindh Tennis Association, which is headed by Perveen Akhter, will also take up beach cleaning drive before the matches on at the venue of the championships.

The events to be contested in the championship include men’s singles and doubles, ladies singles and doubles

The last date of entry is Feb 4 and the entries can be sent to to Muhammad Khalid Rehmani or Erum Bukhari. — Agencies

PWCC to stage league event

LAHORE: The Pakistan Wheelchair Cricket Council (PWCC) will hold the Interloop Pakistan Champions League here from Feb 1 to 5.

Rukhsana Rajput, chief executive of the PWCC, said the League will be held at LCCA ground, Lahore and Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

The league stage matches and semi-finals will be played from Feb 1 to 4 at the LCCA ground followed by the final at the Iqbal Stadium on Feb 5.

Six teams namely Lahore Sikandars, Islam Stallions, Quetta Strikers, Karachi Archers, Kashmir Tigers and Peshawar are participating in the event.—Sports Reporter

SSB Kashmir Day Cup basketball from Feb 4

TANDO JAM: The SSB Kashmir Day Cup Basketball will commence here at the Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam campus from February 4 with the leading teams from universities, colleges, clubs and districts set to take part in the event.

Interested institutions and teams have been directed to send their entries maximum by Feb 2 to Sindh Agriculture University’s Director Sports Anwar Hussain Khanzada.

The tournament will be organized by PSWA under the auspices of Sindh Olympic Association and in collaboration with the Sindh Agriculture University. —Agencies

Four matches decided

LAHORE: Sargodha, Faisalabad, Lahore and Bahawalpur won their respective matches of the Sports Board Punjab Inter-division Hockey Championships here at the National Hockey Stadium on Friday.

A brace from Abuzar helped Sargodha maul Dera Ghazi Khan 6-0, while Faisalabad trounced Multan 4-1 with Mohammad Sajid scoring two goals.

Lahore skipper Hannan Shahid shone with a double in a 3-1 victory against Sahiwal and Bahawalpur blanked Rawalpindi 3-0.—Sports Reporter

Golden Stars win title

LAHORE: Half-centuries by Raees Butt and Mohammad Saleem helped Golden Stars Club beat Cricket Centre by five wickets in the OTC Lahore Challenge Cup One-day Cricket Tournament final here at the Shah Faisal Club ground on Friday.

Summarised scores:

CRICKET CENTRE 238-6 in 35 overs (Haseeb-ur-Rehman 65, Mohammad Waheed 47; Sadaqat Ali 2-37, Mohammad Haseeb 2-48); GOLDEN STARS CLUB 242-5 in 33.4 overs (Raees Butt 74, Mohammad Saleem 50, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 29 not out; Mamun Riaz 3-54, Qasir Ashraf 2-26).—Sports Reporter

Defence Raya golf event from today

LAHORE: As many as 127 contestants will feature in the Defence Raya Monthly Medal Golf Event being held at Defence Raya Golf Course on Saturday and Sunday.

The participants of the two-day event include 54 senior amateurs and 73 amateurs.

The first round on Saturday is earmarked for a competitive race amongst the senior amateurs who fall in the age bracket of above 55 years. The amateur contest is scheduled to take place on Sunday.—Sports Reporter

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2021