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What
next for Pakistan cricket? COLOMBO
CALLING Pakistan athletics need to overcome
hurdles Squashed by incompetence? Clash of the titans Malaga CF: Spain’s
new power-club? What next for Pakistan cricket? By Malik Arshed Gilani p.s.n The ICC Task Force specific to Pakistan, including
one individual from Pakistan, was presumably Whilst I personally agree with the Task Force that there exists a dire need to improve the competence and management systems of the PCB, this was not their charter. Why or who allowed them to go down this road needs inquiry as it is insulting to Pakistan that the Task Force has remarked on domestic cricket, PCB management and coaching. The Task Force, however, has not to my knowledge made any suggestions to solve the basic issue. Considering that the ICC is now almost the Indian Cricket Council rather than the International Cricket Council, one is surprised that the PCB did not take up this matter at the Hong Kong meeting. I hope it amused our readers as much as it did me to read a statement by the CEO of the ICC that no specific window had been left for the IPL in their Future Tours Program. Miraculously, however, no matches are scheduled during the usual timing of the IPL. One is glad to see that finally great cricketers like Greg Chappell, Michael Holding and Geoffrey Boycott have spoken about the stranglehold that India has on the ICC. In a recent interview that I saw on television, I concluded that finally our illustrious Chairman of the PCB has truly lost touch with reality. Ijaz Butt just brazenly said something does not make fact! The interview was made as if this was his finest hour as he recounted the ‘achievements’ he has made during his tenure. The only excuse that I can find for the kind of credit he claimed is that age has impaired his memory and his judgment. If this be the case one can but sympathise with him. If this not be so then he is seriously ethically and factually challenged. In a very wide ranging interview in which surprisingly the anchorperson never once corrected Butt’s selective memory, the man had the temerity to brazenly state that Pakistan cricket was in great shape and that he had pulled it out of the mire. He took great pride in the financial well-being of the PCB, its management its strategic planning and indeed less we miss out the influence and popularity he has in the ICC to the benefit of Pakistan. He also took pride in the discipline that he has enforced on the players which he claimed had been achieved by his consistent policies. If that is the case, I fail to understand why he has elicited the remarks; “a joker”, “disconnected with reality”, “one of the reasons your young players are facing sanctions” and finally “has either taken no action or done too little to late causing harm to Pakistan cricket” from the international media. May I recount some of the events that have marked the blighted rule of Ijaz Butt; his latest ranting about Afridi. This cricketer was made captain by Butt who sang his praises. He more than once justified his selection and defended him when he “bit the ball”. He and his cohorts were all pro-Afridi until he stopped listening to their non-cricketing selections and actions. Suddenly he went out of favour. If for nothing else, Butt must take the blame for very bad judgment in choosing him in the first place. To go to the lengths that he did in his interview when he hinted as broadly as possible that Afridi threw two matches in the West Indies is shameful for a chairman whose task is to promote Pakistan cricket. Such statements would normally be actionable in a court of law. Was he trying to prove that his decisions in the Board have been always been in the interest of Pakistan? And not affected by political pressures? Butt, please pull the other one it has bells on it! Before this incident but in no particular order are instances like the frequent changes in the Board of CEO’s, selectors, coaches and any one else who spoke sense. Examples are Aamir Sohail, Abdul Qadir, Javed Miandad and lastly Wasim Bari to name just a few. Next is the choice of his management team who all emanate from Lahore or the Punjab which hopefully is not due to provincial prejudice but by a need to choose personal loyalty above competence. It appears that all talent in cricket management and cricket know-how is limited to people who have been involved with him in the past. This attitude has resulted in the appearance that Karachi, which used to provide significant representation and weight to Pakistan cricket has suddenly little talent left. And that’s not it. He has defamed English players along with his own players, sought support from BCCI, Bangladesh Cricket Board and Sri Lankan Cricket Board and the total security mismanagement at the Lahore incident which left us as a pariah in world cricket. This is your legacy, Butt! malikgilani2002@gmail.com COLOMBO CALLING SLPL fizzles as Sanga sizzles By Dilanka Mannakkara The tag of the
‘controversial hub’ looks to be zigzagging from Pakistan to Sri
Lanka. The postponement of the much-awaited Sri Lankan Premier League
came after Kumar Sangakkara’s ‘spirit SLPL postponed Controversies continue to be in full swing with the much hyped SLPL being postponed due to SLC (Sri Lankan Cricket) not being able to negotiate and obtain BCCI’s support. The SLPL, viewed as a cheap, less glamorous and less-exciting competitor to the money-spinning IPL, was actually designed to identify young Sri Lankan talent as well as to involve some of the world’s best T20 players in the Pakistanis who were unfortunately ignored for the IPL. But India dropped the first bombshell by stating that they will not allow even their second-choice players to participate in the SLPL citing reasons that SLPL is handled by Somerset ventures which has links to former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and various other factors. The SLC was so worried
about the non-participation of the Indian players that they tried every Even then, Sri Lankans were expecting a quality league with the participation of Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Umar Akmal, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Kevin O’ Brien, Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Herchelle Gibbs and Daniel Vettori.
Although the BCCI has the right to disallow their players but why do the 20-odd players that eagerly signed for SPLPL have to suffer? One cannot imagine what went through the minds of the SLC to stick to local players despite having prized signings. SLC is in a financial crisis and so, this was the best time to get these world class players to showcase their talents and make this event a crowd-puller. People in Sri Lanka were so interested and excited by the idea of the SLPL that they were inquiring about the tickets a few days after the idea of the league came up. However, the Sri
Lankans will have to wait for another year. Usually the T20 provincial
league is Sanga lands into trouble It wasn’t Sangakkara the master batsman that came in to play, it was Sanga the wonderful, articulate orator who stunned the world with a marvelous speech full of substance, style and brave words. It was a momentous occasion for Sri Lankans when, in front of a packed crowd of 1500 people, the eloquent Sangakkara, who was invited by the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club Christopher Martin Jenkins, rose to deliver the Cowdrey Spirit of Cricket oration. Sangakkara is the youngest and the only current player to be bestowed this singular honour. He stunned the cricketing world, not only by his eloquence but the substance of his discourse in where he took upon himself to define to the world, the Sri Lankan-ness of his people. Talking from the heart about his beloved country and his beloved game, this lump-in-the-throat proclamation would have had Colin Cowdrey surely doff his hat. Sangakkara received a
standing ovation at the end of his speech thus far received only by
England series -- a lost opportunity Meanwhile, Sri Lanka came to England despite various issues and a depleted side sans Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas did well to lose the Test series by a small 1-0 margin. However, much was expected from the one-day side, the World Cup finalists. Although the series was nicely poised at 2-2 with the final game to go, all four games were totally one-sided. When the sun shone and the wickets were flat, the Lankanns beat the hell out of the Englishmen while in overcast conditions and green tops, England made mincemeat out of the visitors. However, the best game of the tournament was the final and England overcame a topsy turvy battle to win the game despite a brilliant fight-back from Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis. However, Sri Lanka’s find for the series must surely be Dinesh Chandimal who lived up to the expectations and played fearless cricket. He to me is the Umar Akmal of Sri Lanka who likes to take on the bowlers. Jeevan Mendis proved that what a useful utility cricketer he is with his batting, leg-spin and electric fielding while Angelo Mathews seems to be a future star of the game. dilan_y2j@yahoo.com Pakistan athletics need to overcome hurdles By Alam Zeb Safi Pakistani athletes failed to impress in the recently-concluded Asian Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan as not even a single athlete of the five fielded by the country came close to glory and the whole pack fell short even of their personal bests in their respective events. The country’s
leading sprinter and the sole medal-hope, Liaquat Ali, turned out to be
the biggest Emerging Mohsin Ali, who was included in the squad after the country’s top hurdler Mohammad Sajjad failed to impress in the Asian Grand Prix in China in May, finished seventh out of eight athletes by inking 14.52, also short of his personal best. Experienced triple-jumper Zafar Iqbal was the other casualty who ended 11th out of 12 contestants by recording a length of 15.30m; well below his personal best which he had achieved in the 30th National Games in Karachi four years back. The only female athlete Rabia Ashiq completed her 1500-metre race at the 11th spot out of 12 participants. The performance of the national athletes in Kobe is yet another warning sign for the authorities that it is now very difficult to compete at international level mainly because other countries are investing a lot on their athletes and running their affairs scientifically. During a detailed chat with some of the athletes who featured in the Asian Championship, I came to the conclusion that a lack of a proper system is the biggest reason why the national athletes are unable to deliver outside South Asia. First of all, our training system is defective. In India, athletes are kept permanently in their training camps besides being provided with extensive opportunities of advanced training on foreign soil. However, in Pakistan, only a month-long camp was held at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad to prepare for the Asian Championships. Departments, too, hold camps of their athletes only for the national and inter-unit competitions in Pakistan and the athletes then continue to keep themselves fit by undergoing training by themselves in their respective regions and mostly without the proper guidance of the coaches and their technical advice. After a failure in international circuit, the authorities normally put all the blame on their athletes, while ignoring their own faults. Athletes don’t have a magic wand to improve without proper support. Even hundred per cent training at home will not be sufficient to instill in them the type of perfection and mental strength through which they will be made able to compete in international circuit. In the 1960’s and 70’s, Pakistani athletes used to click at the continental level because they were being provided with standard training in Germany and England. The Kobe event was the first assignment for the national athletes in 17 months since they featured in the South Asian Games in Dhaka early last year. They then missed the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and the Asian Games in China on the trot. The Pakistan Sports Board did not allow their athletes to take part in the above two mega events after a few of them were banned for two years after they were tested positive for using banned drugs during the national championship held in Islamabad last year. I always say that the cream of the remaining untainted lot should have been sent to feature in these two events. Had they been tested in those tough competitions then, at least a couple of them could have put up fine show in Japan. The athletes are also suffering the brunt of the hostile relations between the PSB and the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP). The AFP, which is solely dependant on government funds will have to act vigorously by seeking sponsors to arrange not only foreign training programmes for their athletes but to also help them provide better coaching facilities. It came to me as a shock when I learnt that Pakistan’s top hurdler and reigning national champion Mohammad Sajjad was left pining for support in terms of training and nutrition after he was selected by the Asian Athletics Association for the Asian Grand Prix which was held in China in May. Sajjad from PAF, was seen training on his own for the Grand Prix and then he was sent to China for the show just a day ahead of the event where he could not acclamatise in the chilly conditions and fell ill. Nobody in the AFP then asked him why he failed to perform and he was ignored for the Kobe Asian Championship, giving Mohsin, Pakistan’s No 2 hurdler, a chance to show his mettle in the continental event. Pakistan is brimming with talent in athletics and now they have to look beyond South Asia and the Commonwealth. India and even Sri Lanka, have started diverting their attention from South Asian Games and last year in Dhaka, both the countries did not field their cream as they were sent abroad to prepare for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Pakistan have been unable to get the best out of their athletes as we saw that Naseem Hameed clinched the 100-metre gold in Dhaka SAG but since then she has been seen skipping events -- including two national ones. I think she will be brought back for the next South Asian Games but it isn’t the right way to move ahead. It was the responsibility of the AFP to focus on her after her stupendous feat in Dhaka and send her abroad for training to prepare for events at the international circuit. Again, their approach is limited to South Asian Games only. Positive and professional approach towards the game could push Pakistan into the mainstream at international level. But here we lack both of them, which is quite unfortunate. 73.alam@gmail.com There seems no hope for squash in Pakistan as it continues to suffer one blow after another. By Khalid Hussain For a squash buff
it’s hard to believe that Pakistan is now counted among second-grade
nations in But for somebody who has seen how the sport is run in our country, it’s not really surprising. Poor planning, incompetent officials, feuding families and vested interest elements combine to form a lethal injection that is slowly but surely leading Pakistan squash to the path of complete destruction. Just recently, Pakistan’s squash officials even failed to obtain visas for their leading junior players, forcing to the former champions to stay away from the recently-concluded World Junior Championship in Belgium. It was a major setback but the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) just took it in its stride. One of the players, who was supposed to represent Pakistan in the July 13-17 spectacle rang me up last week to tell me that he won’t be going to Belgium. “They (PSF) failed to get visas for us,” said the youngster, who requested anonymity. “I feel heartbroken because all the hard work I had done for the championship has gone down the drain.” The Pakistanis would
have provided the two 3/4 seeds had they competed in the event. Danish
Atlas Khan and Nasir Iqbal, both 17-year-olds from Peshawar, were
supposed to lead Pakistan’s title I decided to contact Irfan Asghar, the PSF secretary, to get his side of the story. It was really difficult to trace him but finally I managed to get hold of the official. Asghar, a Pakistan Air Force officer, told me that the PSF tried everything possible to get Belgian visas for their players. He claimed that a delay by the World Squash Federation (WSF) in sending visa letters to Pakistan was the main reason why the Belgian Embassy in Islamabad refused to issue visas to Pakistani players. Asghar went on to make a stunning allegation when he said that the delay could have occurred because the “WSF president happens to be an Indian”. “I must say that it was because the organisers of the World Junior Championship and the WSF that our players have been deprived of their right to play in the event,” said Asghar. “We had selected our team for the World Junior Championships on May 30 but in spite of our repeated reminders, we only received visa letters from them on June 30. By then it was too late and finally we were told that our players would not get visas to play in Belgium,” he claimed. “We don’t know why
they didn’t send us the letters earlier,” he said. “But we have
our suspicions. Unsurprisingly, WSF immediately reacted strongly to the allegation with one of its senior officials terming it as unfounded, libelous and mischievous. Andrew Shelley, WSF’s CEO, told ‘The News on Sunday’ that PSF officials blundered themselves. He revealed that the PSF had been seeking visa request supporting letters for the wrong event. “We ordinarily supplies visa request supporting letters to our member federations on the day that the request is received,” said Shelley. “For the World Men’s World Junior Individual in Belgium, unfortunately the Pakistan Federation directed a visa request to the organisers of the Men’s World Teams in Germany (to be played in Germany in August) on 24 June. Then on 29 June when we were copied in on a follow up note from PSF we enquired whether they perhaps meant the individual in Belgium and sent the visa support letters that same day (copying in the Belgian consulate in Islamabad too). “The Belgian Federation did likewise, although they had a problem with their Emails bouncing back that was resolved shortly afterwards when PSF supplied an alternative address. “Unfortunately, there is a long lead time needed for visa applications in many instances and the time was too short for this submission, which was very unfortunate as it would have been great to have welcomed these potential medallists to this world championship,” he stressed. Meanwhile, the PSF came under heavy fire over its failure to send the national junior team to Belgium. Pakistan squash legend Jahangir Khan declared that by accusing WSF, PSF is trying to hide it own faults. “It was the PSF’s fault that our players were denied participation in the World Junior Championship,” said Jahangir, arguably the most successful squash player of all time. “It is just trying to give the issue a political twist by accusing WSF’s Indian president of hatching a conspiracy against Pakistan. “I know for sure that WSF president has nothing to do with everyday correspondence with member federations,” added Jahangir, who served as WSF president for several years. Demands have also been made for a full-fledged inquiry into the issue. Senator Enver Baig, a staunch critic of Pakistan’s sports authorities, has urged the government to grill PSF officials over their failure. “The PSF should have had arranged their (players) visas at least two months in advance if the boys were selected well in time. As a matter of fact all top players both senior and junior must hold UK and Schengen visas at all times. Incase PSF had any problem getting their visas they should approach Foreign office via Sport Ministry, which they did not do,” said Baig. “Senior Pakistan Air Force officers are holding slots in PSF and for them to give time to squash is not possible as the country is fighting war on terror. I have said it earlier and I am saying it again that the PSF should be out of clutches of Air Force, as they have to attend to national duty,” he said. “The PSF is to be blamed as it has failed to get our young squash players into the international arena. It’s a shame that a country like Pakistan will not even be competing in the World Junior Championship. It’s evident that the PSF officials are incompetent. “Even at the senior level we are nowhere in the world rankings. Five or six of our players used to be in the top 10 world rankings but now we don’t have a single player even in the top-30. The PSF has completely failed in its duties.” Baig revealed that he was informed by Belgium’s ambassador in Islamabad that PSF submitted the passports of their players a day after the team was supposed to travel to Belgium. “I spoke to the Ambassador of Belgium today who said the passports of the squash players were received at the Embassy on Monday (July 11) even though the players were supposed to depart on Sunday (July 10). It’s time that the government takes serious notice and seeks an explanation from PSF.” It certainly is time that the authorities take serious note of the continuing decline of Pakistan squash. Unfortunately, it seems that nobody cares any more for a sport that gave Pakistan an identity at a time when it needed one. khalidhraj@gmail.com By Khurram Mahmood The Indian cricket team started their extensive tour of England with a three-day practice match against Somerset. The tour will consist of four Tests, one Twenty20 and five One-day Internationals. England and India both
come into the series on the back of series victories against Sri Lanka
and After missing the tour of the West Indies, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambir, Zaheer Khan and Shantukumaran Sreesanth have strengthen the Indian team. For skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it would be a tough assignment. It would also be a tough task for the English bowlers against a strong Indian batting line-up. England would depend on their pace battery consisting of James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Chris Broad who will test the Indian batsmen with their swing bowling while it will be a good test for spinner Graeme Swann who will face his battles with the specialist Indian batting against spin. England also have a good strong batting line up especially on their home grounds. Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan have the capability to destroy any bowling attack on their day. The last time England beat India in a series was 15 years back in 1996 after which the two have met in five series where India has won thrice and two have ended in a draw. But the last time England lost a Test series was in February 2009 while India’s previous series loss was against Sri Lanka in July 2008. The first Test between the two countries will be played at Lord’s from July 21 and it will be the 2000th Test in the history of cricket. It could be more memorable for little master Sachin Tendulkar who is one century away from reaching 100 international tons and has an opportunity to achieve his personal milestone on at the iconic Lord’s cricket ground. From the first Test
series in 1932 in England to the last one in India in 2008, 99 Tests
have been England have 32 wins, India 19 while 46 have ended in a draw. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar is the most successful batsman in the bi-lateral Test series with 2,483 runs in 38 matches at an average of 38.20 with the help of four centuries and 16 fifties. Little master Sachin Tendulkar is just behind him with 2,150 runs in only 24 Tests he played so far with seven hundreds and 10 half-centuries averaging 61.42. From England, former captain Graham Gooch has scored most runs (1,725) at an average of 55.64 with five hundreds and eight fifties. Graham Gooch’s 333 at Lord’s in 1990 still the individual highest score from any side while Vinod Kambli’s 224 at Mumbai in 1993 is the best score from any Indian batsman. India’s 664 at the Oval in 2007 is their highest total against England while England’s 653/4 at Lord’s in 1990 is the highest. India were bowled for 42 in 1974 at Lord’s which is lowest team total from both sides. On the bowling side, Indian spinner Chandrasekhar is the most successful bowler from both sides with 95 wickets in 23 matches averaging 27.27 while former Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble is just behind him with 92 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 30.59. For England, fast bowler Bob Willis took 62 wickets at an average of 23.24. Khurrams87@yahoo.com
Malaga CF: Spain’s new power-club? By Umaid Wasim Asian investment in global football has been a growing trend. Since former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra took over Manchester City, Asians have since eyed the European football market as a profitable industry to exploit. Since then, Manchester
City have been sold to Abu Dhabi businessman Sheikh Mansour bin Nahyan In France, Paris Saint Germain were sold to Qatari investors in June and the club is seeing a massive injection of cash. Over in Spain, Indian entrepreneur Ahsan Ali Sayed purchased Racing Santander but the club, last week, went into voluntary administration with debts of more than 33 million euros to become the sixth insolvent club in La Liga. Racing explained in a statement that they had been forced into the move due to the complex institutional situation that had been provoked by the sale of the club to Ahsan Ali Syed. In a league that has been beset by financial problems and debt, Malaga too were cash-strapped and debt-ridden until they were taken over by Qatari billionaire Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani last year. And since then, the club has seen a change in fortunes as they look to follow the Manchester City blue-print of investing heavily on new players. Malaga have been the
busiest Spanish club in the transfer market since the end of last
season, However, the Andalucians have been shrewder in their acquisitions. Manager Manuel Pellegrini, who was hired last season and guided the club to 11th place, has signed a number of high-profile players but the amount of cash spent has been less than that spent during the Middle Eastern revolution at Manchester City. Former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy was signed for free after his contract with Hamburg expired. Already proven in Spain, the Dutchman is expected to score goals for fun as he’s been doing throughout his career. And to provide him with chances to score, the club have systematically signed wing wizard Joaquin from Valencia along with young Argentine sensation Diego Buananotte from River Plate. The duo is expected to link up with midfielders Julio Baptista and Enzo Marseca, signed in January last year, to give the club a midfield that could compete very well with any club in the world. Pellegrini also strengthened the defence with the signings of Dutch defender Joris Mathijsen, who would be expected to form a solid central defensive pairing with Argentine centre-back Martin Demichelis, who was signed from Bayern Munich in January as he picks up the pieces for his jigsaw puzzle at Malaga. And that is where his credentials come into play. The former Villarreal
and Real Madrid manager is an expert at building a side with players
that have At Villarreal, the Chilean built a team with players like Diego Forlan and Juan Roman Riquelme and guided them to the semifinals of the Champions League. At that time, both Riquelme and Forlan had both been said to have lost their swagger but the way Pellegrini handled the players and helped the team grow, earned him a job as manager of Spanish giants Real Madrid. At Real though, he didn’t get much of an opportunity to sign players that he wanted and although he guided the club to their highest points tally ever, he was fired as Real lost the title to arch-rivals Barcelona. And now at Malaga, Pellegrini would be looking to give his former employees and Barca a run for their money. And as far as the owners are concerned, they want the Chilean to be the man to take guide them to glory by tying him up with the club till 2015. “The Andalucian club strengthens its project for the future showing complete confidence in the work of Pellegrini,” the club said in a statement then. And now, the club are
emerging as potential challengers to the bi-polar hegemony of Real and
Barca in Spain as the club embarks on a vision of their owner who wants
it to be a ‘a major force in And its not just the pitch where their Qatari owners are investing. On Thursday, the club hired former Real Madrid player Fernando Hierro -- who originally hails from Malaga -- as general manager for the next four seasons. Hierro had just finished up a four-year stint as sporting director with World champions Spain and now he too has become a part of the revolution at the club as the club strengthens its boardroom as well. Recently, Radio Marca compared Al Thani’s revitalisation of Malaga with that carried out by Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in the period 2003-2005. With the La Liga season starting on August 21, the football world will get a chance to see for themselves how close the new Malaga is to challenge Barcelona and Real for the Championship, because the fixture list has given them a mouth-watering home start against champions Barca. umaid.wasim@gmail.com |
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created at the request and with the concurrence of the PCB to find ways
of bringing international cricket back to Pakistan. Usually all such
committees are created with a specific charter to ensure that in a
specific period of time a solution is recommended; in this case to find
methods of encouraging ICC member countries to play in Pakistan.
of cricket speech along with Sri Lanka’s series of mixed fortunes
against England. Letís talk about both these issues.
diplomatic way to get them for the league but they failed eventually.
However,
by a shocking miracle, the SLC had agreed with the BCCI to not have any
foreign players in the SLPL and decided that it would be a 10-day
5-Province league.
broadcasted and it does not attract many spectators so the opportunity
of making SLPL count on the international scene looks like a foregone
challenge.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He spoke the bitter truth and his courageous,
bold speech has made such an effect as the Sports Minister has to hold
an inquiry about the comments he made as he mentioned that a contracted
player should not have made such comments about the cricket board which
he represents.
But
the minster might have forgotten that the player contracts expired on
March 31 and it spices up the whole issue.
disappointment as he was disqualified in a 100-metre heat. Liaquat had
set a new national record by completing his 100-metre sprint in 10.1
seconds in the national championships in Lahore in April but luck did
not favour him in the continental event. Ali Mohammad also ended well
behind his personal best when he finished eighth out of eight athletes
in the 800m final, clocking 1:56.9. Before the title show, he clocked
1:51.81 in the heat to qualify for the final.
the world of squash. Gone are the glory days when the country used to
have five or even six of its players in the top-ten world rankings. Gone
are the days when Pakistan used to ride roughshod over its opponents.
Currently, Pakistan doesn’t have even have a single player in the
top-30 rankings.
campaign in Belgium.
The fact that the WSF has an Indian president could have been a reason
behind it, who knows,” added the PSF secretary referring to N
Ramachandran, the WSF chief from India.
West Indies respectively.
played between the two countries.
while their fellow English Premier League rivals Blackburn Rovers were
taken over by Indian poultry giants, Venky’s last year.
signing up eight new players so far and looking for more new faces.
been said to have been past their prime.
European football’.