First win for Lahore Blues in U-19 cricket
KARACHI - Wasim Khan claimed five wickets and Safeer Azam slammed an unbeaten half century as Lahore Blues notched-up their first win in the Inter Region Under-19 One-Day Cricket Tournament beating Quetta by seven wickets here at the UBL Sports Complex Ground on Thursday. Karachi Blues which suffered a shocking defeat at hands of Bahawalpur in their opening match, produced a contrasting performance in their second round match. Wasim finished with five wickets 27 runs as opting to bat first, Quetta crashed to 180 all out in 47th over. Lahore Blues in reply romped home for the loss of three wickets in the 45th over. Safeer Azam made a steady unbeaten 71 off 129 balls laced with seven hits to the boundary. Quetta: 180-10 in 47 overs and Lahore Blues: 181-3 in 44.3 overs.–APP
PAF chief gives cash prize to champ Israr
ISLAMABAD - Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, who is also president of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), has awarded cash prize to newly-crowned Asian Junior Individual squash champion Israr Ahmad, here at Air Headquarters. Israr won the 22nd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championship played in Iran, after defeating top seed and one of the hot favorites Malaysian Ng Eain 3-2 in five hard-fought games in 61 minutes of highly entertaining final. The Air chief appreciated the performance of Israr Ahmad and accorded approval for giving him wild card for the forthcoming CAS International Squash Championship 2015 at Islamabad. “The achievement of Israr is really laudable, and I hope he will continue such good performance to earn more laurels for the country.” He also lauded the performance of other young players for bringing laurels to the country and appreciated the efforts of the PSF’s coaching staff for giving proper training and guidance to the Pakistani squad. The PSF president reiterated that the federation would continue sponsoring the top squash players and also support and facilitate them in every possible way for improving their world rankings.–Staff Reporter
PRU promotes game under GIR programme
LAHORE - The ‘Get In to Rugby Programme’ started with full swing across the country under the aegis of Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU). PRU head coach Shakeel Ahmad visited four different schools and at different venues. First PRU team visited Angle International College Faisalabad where 580 school and college girls and boys took part in the rugby programme, especially elder children participated with great zeal and zest. Angle College Sports Coordinator Javed Iqbal said that their college had already featured in the U-18 club rugby tournament in London this year. “Rugby is very popular in our college and we are preparing for a full women team. We already have boys’ team.” PRU team then visited Govt Girls High School Faisalabad where 358 girls took part in GIR programme. Then they reached in Govt Degree College Faisalabad where 42 college girls appeared in the programme. In the end, PRU team reached Police Training School Farooq Abad where 32 policemen participated in the programme. Shakeel said: “This year, the GIR is bigger than last year. Our plan is to visit and train thousands of school and college kids under ‘Get into Rugby Programme’, which is world rugby’s very famous programme for all ages to learn rugby basics.–Staff Reporter