Pakistani footballers break in to international scene

ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani footballers Naveed Akram and Mahmood Ali of Wapda FC have become the first two footballers in over four decades to accept offers to play in foreign football leagues.

Both Naveed and Mahmood have signed two-month loan contracts with Saraswoti Youth Club (SYC) of Nepal for the 2011 Nepal Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League campaign which is already underway.

The loan periods began mid-May and ends in mid-July 2011, which coincides with the final two months of the three month long Nepal A-Division League season, with the top eight teams out of eighteen will then play in the Nepal National League 2011, according to a press release.

Midfield maestro Mahmood Ali from Quetta and dynamic fullback Naveed Akram from Multan have expressed their desire to make all Pakistani football fans proud by giving their best in Nepal.

Naveed said that this is an honour for him and Mahmood to be given the chance to play in a foreign league to really experience international club football.

“It was my dream as a footballer to play outside Pakistan and I am thankful to SYC and the people at both GoalNepal.Com and FootballPakistan.Com (FPDC) for helping both of us to avail this golden opportunity.”

The two Wapda starters have managed to complete all required NOCs (No Objection Certificates) from Wapda Sports Board and the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), as well as contract signing for registration with All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) and are hopeful to be eligible to make their debut in SYC’s next game against rivals Brigade Boys Club.

news covered by dawn sports

Manchester united crowned english champions for the 19th time

LONDON: Wayne Rooney scored the goal that gave Manchester United a record 19th English title in a 1-1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday.
United needed just a point from this game to regain the Premier League title from Chelsea and they got it when England striker Rooney scored from the penalty spot 17 minutes from time after Rovers keeper Paul Robinson brought down Javier Hernandez.
Australia’s Brett Emerton had fired Rovers, still not certain of top-flight survival, into a 20th minute lead before Rooney settled United’s nerves with a powerful spot-kick.
The result gave United, now in sole possession of a record they had shared with arch-rivals Liverpool an unassailable seven-point lead at the top of the English Premier League table, with closest pursuers Chelsea only able to win a maximum of six points from their two remaining matches.
At the other end of the table, Wolves climbed a point clear of the relegation zone after a 3-1 win away to Sunderland.
Former Sunderland defender Jody Craddock gave Wolves a 22nd minute lead on his return to the Stadium of Light before a failure to clear a corner allowed Stephane Sessegnon to smash home a 34th minute equaliser at the far post.
But Matt Jarvis, a half-time substitute, provided the cross from the right that allowed Steven Fletcher to head Wolves in at the far post.
George Elokobi sealed Wolves’ victory with a header 12 minutes from time.
Blackpool – who started the day in the bottom three – remained in the relegation zone despite a dramatic 4-3 win at home to Bolton Wanderers ahead of their final game of the season away to Manchester United next weekend.
But victory put them level on 39 points with Birmingham, ahead of the Blues’ match against Fulham on Sunday.
Five goals came in a frantic first half at Bloomfield Road with striker Kevin Davies firing visitors Bolton into a second minute lead only for Blackpool forward DJ Campbell to equalise seven minutes later.
Campbell then teed-up strike partner Jason Puncheon in the 19th minute as Blackpool went 2-1 in front.
But a defence that had conceded 71 league goals this season before this match kicked-off could not deny Bolton an equaliser through Matt Taylor’s angled shot.
However, on the stroke of half-time, Campbell scored his second when he turned in Charlie Adam’s cross.
Bolton though were back on level terms at 3-3 when Daniel Sturridge headed in Lee Chung-Yong’s cross in the 53rd minute.
There was yet another twist when Adam, who led a sweeping counter-attack, shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen from 15 yards to put Blackpool 4-3 in front with just under half an hour left.
Saturday’s other match saw West Brom beat Everton 1-0, Youssouf Mulumbu scoring the only goal of the game at The Hawthorns in the 10th minute before the Toffees’ Russian substitute, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, was sent-off minutes after coming on for a challenge on James Morrison.
Basement club West Ham are away to second-bottom Wigan on Sunday where defeat for the Hammers will see them relegated.
Sunday also sees Chelsea at home to Newcastle while Arsenal, still not assured of third place, face Aston Villa as Europa Cup League place rivals Liverpool and Tottenham clash at Anfield.
Manchester City and Stoke, who meet in the FA Cup final at Wembley later on Saturday, face each other again in the league at Eastlands on Tuesday.


news covered by dawn sports

Pakistan breeze past india at sultan azlan shah cup

KARACHI:Pakistan put up an impressive performance to come out on top and ease past India 3-1 in their heated clash in the Azlan Shah Cup at the Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Pakistan, who had lost their last two matches against Great Britain and Australia needed at least a draw to remain in the tournament while India also needed a good result. However, goals from Umar Bhutta, Mohammad Imran and Sohail Abbas made sure that Pakistan stayed in the tournament as strong contenders for the tournament.
After a slow paced start, India were awarded a penalty corner from which their goal scored by Shivendra was disallowed. The second penalty corner through which India grabbed the lead came in the 21st minute and Rupinder Pal Singh was the scorer.
Pakistan got their first penalty corner in the 25th minute which was sent wide on the right side of goal by Sohail Abbas.
Maintaining the tempo of the match, India earned another penalty corner which was saved by Imran to deny Rupinder Pal Singh a chance to build on India’s lead.
At half time, India led 1-0.
Things changed in the second half when Pakistan forced India to take a back seat and scored the three goals. Rehan Butt missed a chance to equalize in the 38th minute and soon after, Shakeel Abbasi sent a shot over the post.
In the 49th minute, Pakistan converted their dominance on the field into an equalizer through Umar Bhutta. In the 55th minute, Rupinder Pal Singh conceded a penalty upon which Pakistan capitalized and grabbed the lead through Mohammad Imran.
Another penalty corner let Pakistan solidify their lead over India as Sohail Abbas scored, making the score 3-1 in Pakistan’s favour.
In the dying minutes of the match, India and Pakistan were both given penalty corners which did not result in any goal.
In the day’s other two matches, New Zealand defeated hosts Malaysia while Australia eased past South Korea.
AFP reports that World Champions Australia took a step closer on Wednesday to their target of winning the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after a well-crafted 4-2 victory over joint holders South Korea.
The Australians lead the standings with 10 points, ahead of Great Britain, close behind on nine points.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said his team’s performance was still rusty despite the win.
“There are moments where they played very well. This was in the first half where we took our chances well. The second-half performance was very poor. But we have sealed the points, and the real test will be on Thursday,” Charlesworth said.
Australia will meet Great Britain, who are on two rest days, on Thursday.
The Australians dominated the first half against South Korea, taking a 3-1 lead.
Timothy Deavin scored just after eight minutes from a field effort, followed by Mark Paterson in the 12th minute and Glenn Turner in the 34th minute.
The Koreans, who still sit on four points after four matches, reduced the deficit in the 15th minute through You Hyo-sik but rarely raised their game in the first half.
In the second half, they pulled a goal back in the 39th minute through Hyun Hya-sung, also from a field attempt.
But despite the Koreans pushing hard for the equaliser, the Australians slotted another goal in the 63rd minute through Paterson for a convincing win.
The result leaves South Korea with only a slim chance of repeating last year’s feat of making the final unless Australia and Great Britain show a dramatic collapse in form.
In the earlier game, New Zealand bagged a last-minute 3-2 win over hapless hosts Malaysia to give the Kiwis their first victory at the tournament.
The hard-earned win puts New Zealand on four points and coach Shane McLeod said he hoped it would give his side vital impetus for tough games against India and old rivals Australia in the final two matches.
“We have turned the corner with this win and now will try and win more matches. It is the only way to finish high up. Overall we played better and I feel we earned the win,” he said.
The Kiwis took the lead twice, but fellow tournament strugglers Malaysia equalised each time.
However, a last counterattack earned New Zealand a penalty corner and Steven Edwards scored with 30 seconds left on the clock to give his team full points.
Before that, New Zealand scored goals through Nicholas Wilson in the 16th minute and Stephen Jenness in the 57th minute.
Malaysia’s first-half goal in the 30th minute came from Mohamed Izzat Rahim. Their second was in the 68th minute through Faizal Saari.
Malaysia are yet to score a single point

India impress on first day of south asian judo championship

karachi pakistan could muster one gold medal courtesy of Karamat Butt while India dazzled with seven gold medals on the first day of the South Asian Judo Championship in Islamabad.

Butt grabbed the gold medal in the -81kg while Pervez Khan (-100kg), Naeem Butt (-90kg), Ansa Bano (-57kg) and Fauzia Mumtaz (-70kg) won silver medals and Hammad Afzal (+100kg) and Fazeelat Sardar (-63kg) won bronze medals.
India led the medals haul with seven golds and one silver while Bangladesh were behind Pakistan with one silver and one bronze followed by Afghanistan with five bronze medals and Sri Lanka and Nepal with four and three bronze medals respectively.
The medals were awarded by Director General Pakistan Sports Board Amir


news covered by dawn sports

Srilanka emerges as pakistan,s new home venue

KARACHI: Pakistan is scheduled to host England for a Test and one-day international series early next year but with the precarious security situation in the country, the series is likely to be hosted at a neutral venue and Sri Lanka has emerged as one of the preferred hosts.

Being out of favour for hosting international cricket teams, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been in talks for choosing an alternate venue. These alternate options include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the PCB has already ‘hosted’ several series and Sri Lanka, whose officials appear optimistic about securing the England series.

“I have spoken to the cricket boards of both England and Pakistan and they have been very positive about playing the series in Sri Lanka,” Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) Secretary Nishantha Ranatuga told cricket website Cricinfo.

While PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed said the UAE and Sri Lanka are likely venues, he did not confirm where the series could be hosted.

Sri Lanka’s optimism as emanates from the successful hosting of Pakistan’s group matches during the World Cup, which attracted a large number of Pakistani and local fans.

The two South Asian neighbours enjoy friendly relations and Pakistan’s cricket team receives generous support from local Sri Lankan fans.

The other factor favouring Sri Lanka over the UAE may be the finances involved, as the cost of hosting series in the gulf country has hit the PCB in its pockets.

The series, comprising three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20, is scheduled for January and February 2012

Pakistan draw tour match on docile guyana pitch

GEORGETOWN: Pakistan’s bowlers discovered that the conditions in the Caribbean can be unforgiving, when they drew their tour match against Guyana on Monday.

Saeed Ajmal took two wickets for 41 runs from 15 overs, but no other bowler made an impression on the docile Bourda Oval pitch, as Guyana reached 252 for six, in response to Pakistanis’ first innings total of 330 for seven declared on the final day of the two-day match.

The visitors’ bowlers toiled before rain stopped play about 40 minutes before the scheduled close, after Guyana’s batsmen resisted with Shemroy Barrington leading the way with 58, and fellow opener Trevon Griffith supporting with 55.

Pakistan also faced resistance from veteran West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul in a knock of 44, and fellow West Indies left-hander Narsingh Deonarine with 40.

Griffith shared 77 for the first wicket with Barrington before he was caught behind off Tanvir Ahmed.

Barrington then put on 63 for the second wicket with Deonarine before he was lbw to Ajmal, leaving Guyana 140 for two.

The Guyanese continued to bat resolutely with Chanderpaul holding court for almost three hours, but Junaid Khan bowled him just prior to the change in the weather that prompted an earlier than scheduled close.

The match was Pakistan’s only warm-up prior to the first Test against West Indies which opens on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium.

Pakistan are searching for their first Test series victory on Caribbean soil.

Scores:

Pakistan: 330 for seven declared (Misbah-ul-Haq 101 not out, Azhar Ali 57, Mohammad Hafeez 52, Umar Gul 40 not out, Umar Akmal 26, Asad Shafiq 21; Amir Khan 3-88, Zaheer Mohammed 2-64)
Guyana: 252 for six (Shemroy Barrington 58, Trevon Griffith 55, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 44, Narsingh Deonarine 40, Richard Ramdeen 25; Saeed Ajmal 2-41

PTF hints at axing of officials

Seven office-bearers of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) will be fired by the end of this week, allegedly for not delivering, senior vice-president of the federation Irshad Bhatti said.
“I can’t disclose the names of the seven officials, but a report has been finalised and in next week they will be removed from their posts as they are burden on the federation and doing nothing,” he said.
The news covered by dawn news paper .

Pakistani's Capitan Afridi unhappy with ICC ranking system

Dawn newspaper recently published in newspapers that Pakistan`s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi on Thursday said that he is not happy with the one-day rankings system, presently applied by the ICC.

His unhappiness stems from the recent announcement by the ICC that even if Pakistan, which lead the five-match ODI series 2-0 against the West Indies, manage to whitewash the series, it will not earn them a single rating point and they will still be placed at their current ranked sixth position.
“I can`t understand this system. There should be some benefit for the visiting sides as winning a series is never easy for them no matter who they`re playing against,” Afridi told a newspaper from Bridgetown.
Afridi questioned the system that offers little reward against lower-ranked opponents. Even a 4-1 or 3-2 win against the ninth-placed West Indies means a drop in points for Pakistan since they are expected to beat the hosts. “It`s really hard to prosper under the current ranking system. I have little clue what it is based on,” Afridi said.
Afridi, however, said that despite the disappointment over the ratings system, his team remained focused on winning the series against the West Indies. “We`ll give our best to seal the series, which is our main focus. It will boost the morale of the young team.”