Category: Sports

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  • Is Champions Trophy being shifted from Pakistan? ICC chief executive clears the air

    Is Champions Trophy being shifted from Pakistan? ICC chief executive clears the air

    As Pakistan upgrades its stadiums and facilities for Champions Trophy 2025, speculation has been rife that hosting rights may be taken away from the country.

    However, International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Geoff Allardice has confirmed now that there are no plans to move the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 from Pakistan, Geo News has reported.

    Addressing a media briefing held for the Women’s T20 World Cup, Geoff expressed his satisfaction with the tournament venue and said that the ICC is making regular visits to its member countries, including Pakistan, to ensure the successful hosting of events.

    He said, “No team has hesitated to play in the tournament. All teams are committed to playing in Pakistan. Despite previous challenges, all participating teams are determined to play in Pakistan.”

    The ICC Champions Trophy will host eight elite teams based on their performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup: India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

    Pakistan is currently the defending champion of the Champions Trophy. The Pakistan cricket team, led by former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, won the Trophy in England in 2017, defeating India in the final.

  • PCB fires data, video analysts after failing performance test

    PCB fires data, video analysts after failing performance test

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has fired data and video analysts after they failed performance evaluations.

    According to Geo News, analysts were scrutinised under Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi’s direction, and a committee was formed to evaluate their performance.

    The committee tested analysts in various ways, and as a result, 11 out of 26 failed and were immediately fired.

    15 analysts will now be posted to different teams.

  • Pakistan defeats Japan 2-1 in Asian Hockey Championship

    Pakistan defeats Japan 2-1 in Asian Hockey Championship

    Pakistan secured their first victory in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy with a 2-1 win over Japan in a match played in Hollenbeer, China.

    Nadeem Ahmed scored a goal in the first quarter to give Pakistan the lead, but Japan equalized the match in the second quarter.

    In the 10th minute of the second quarter, Sufyan Khan scored the second goal to give Pakistan the lead, which remained until the end of the match.

    The national team drew the first two matches in the event with South Korea and Malaysia earlier.

    The national team will play against China on September 12 and traditional rivals India on September 14.

  • Pakistan Sports Board details federations’ funding for last five years

    Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has released the details of the funds given to various federations and athletes over the last five years (Financial year 2019/20 to financial year 2023/24). The bulk of the funds released by the Board have been given out in the last two years.

    According to the PSB document, more than 50 crores were released to various federations and players in the financial year 2023/24, more than 42 crores during 2022/23, 40 crores in 2020/21, six crores 95 lakhs to federations in 2021/22, and only 2.5 crores in 2019/20.

    The PSB has allocated specific amounts to different sports federations and athletes. For instance, the PSB released 10.36 million rupees to the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in five years, more than 5.9 million of which were given to PHF last financial year, and more than 10 crore to the Athletics Federation. In 2023/24, a grant of 10 crores was released to the Volleyball Federation, whereas in the last five years, the Volleyball Federation received more than 11.5 crores.

    PSB gave seven crores to the Athletes Federation of Pakistan in the financial year 2023/24, seven crores to the Netball Federation in five years, six crores to the Taekwondo Federation, and four Crores 86 Lakh to the Tennis Federation in the last five years.

    During the last five years, the Squash Federation received five crores, the Rifle Association received 2.65 million, the Boxing Federation received three million, the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association received 2.47 million in the last five years, and the Cycling Federation received around four million funds.

  • Petition calls for ban on national cricketers taking families on foreign tours

    Petition calls for ban on national cricketers taking families on foreign tours

    A petition has been filed to ban national cricketers from taking their families on foreign tours, along with a request for financial details of expenses concerning the T20 World Cup

    According to Express News, Advocate Faisal Waheed has approached the Lahore High Court (LHC).

    The application includes the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), chief selector, team manager, head coach, and captain Babar Azam.

    The petition reads: “The performance of the Pakistan cricket team in the World Cup T20 was disappointing. The Pakistani team lost to the new American team in the event. The Pakistan Cricket Board and the players are spending huge amounts of money. The defeat of the cricket team made the public very disappointed.”

    The petition has also called for details of the expenses incurred by the cricket team abroad and the salaries of all officials, including other facilities.

  • Afghan Cricket Board upset over poor facilities at Indian stadium

    Afghan Cricket Board upset over poor facilities at Indian stadium

    The only Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Noida, India, has been delayed amid poor facilities, with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) criticising the venue.

    The only Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was supposed to start yesterday, but the first day was wasted due to wet outfield and even though it did not rain all day in Noida, the toss could not take place on the first day.

    The toss is also delayed on the second day of the Test match.

    The drainage system in the Noida Stadium is poor, and there are no proper and modern facilities to cover the outfield. Standing water in the stadium could not be dried throughout the day.

    The Afghan Board officials said, “There is a lot of confusion, we will not come to this Indian venue again. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here.”

    The Test match is a part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship.

  • Pakistan’s two last-minute goals end match in draw

    Pakistan’s two last-minute goals end match in draw

    The match between Pakistan and Korea ended in a dramatic draw after both teams scored three consecutive goals in the last minute in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in China.

    Pakistan fought hard in the first half of their second match of the event against Korea. Pakistan made several attacks on the opposing goalpost from both sides, but neither team could score a goal.

    In the second half, Korea took the lead by scoring a goal, and the match slowly moved towards Pakistan’s defeat. However, on this occasion, Pakistan’s Shahid Hanan scored two back-to-back goals in the last minute to take the lead.

    However, a few seconds before the end of the match, the Korean player smashed the ball into the goalpost, and the game tied with two goals in a dramatic manner.

    On the first day of the event, the first match between Pakistan and Malaysia was tied with two goals each.

    The national team will play their next match against Japan on Wednesday.

  • I want to play at number 4, not on 7 or 8, says Iftikhar Ahmed

    I want to play at number 4, not on 7 or 8, says Iftikhar Ahmed

    Pakistan cricket team’s all-rounder batsman Iftikhar Ahmed said, “I performed at number four in domestic cricket. I want to play in the national team at the same number.”

    Speaking to the media before a practice session in Faisalabad on Sunday, the all-rounder said, “When you perform well, you get better opportunities. Preparing for the red ball, I got a chance in just one inning. I am trying to come back to red ball cricket.”

    “In ODI cricket, you must play by looking at the situation. Where power hitting is needed, I will do power hitting,” he added.

    He also said, “I am not a middle-order batsman but a tail-ender batsman, as I bat on number seven or eight. In the world, middle-order batsmen play at number four or five.”

    The Champions ODI Cup will start September 12 in Faisalabad, and the teams’ practice sessions have started.

  • Italian Jannik Sinner wins the US Open Men’s title

    World number one Jannik Sinner of Italy defeated America’s Taylor Fritz to win the US Open title, his second Grand Slam trophy this year.

    He won his first major title at the Australian Open in January.

    Jannik faced a ban for testing positive for banned substances twice in March this year. He became the first player since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season.

    He is also the first Italian to win the singles title, naming the victory after his ailing aunt.

  • Affan Salman wins World Youth Scrabble Championship

    Affan Salman wins World Youth Scrabble Championship

    Affan Salman from Pakistan has won the World Youth Scrabble Championship – fifth title for the country.

    The 16-year-old won 19 out of 23 games during the championship.

    Pakistan is the first country to win the World Youth Scrabble Championship five times.

    138 players participated in the event in Sri Lanka from around the world.