KARACHI: First-class players have lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), complaining over non-payment of their regional contract salaries for the last sixth months and instead wasting millions on the proposed Pakistan Super League (PSL), a project that still seems far away from fruition.

While salaries of PCB officials have been released on time, more than 200 regional team players have been kept waiting for their salaries that were due to be paid at the end of April.

With nearly two months over, players have now started complaining in full volume against the PCB, stating that they are facing financial problems.

“Cricket is our bread and butter and the situation is extremely frustrating,” a Karachi Blues player told The Express Tribune. “The officials are drawing hefty salaries but the board isn’t paying players who earn Rs10,000-Rs20,000 per month. The PCB, for no reason, invested heavily in the PSL knowing it won’t materialise. They should have increased domestic match-fee, daily allowance and made the domestic T20 tournament stronger.”

Meanwhile, Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) chief Khwaja Nadeem also hit out at the board for not paying the players on time.

The official said the players have requested him to sort out the issue and he visited PCB headquarters to register their complaints.

“This is a serious issue because lives of so many families depend on the earning of these players,” said Nadeem. “I’ve spoken to a senior official who said that Zaka Ashraf [now suspended PCB chairman] didn’t order the release of payments when he was in charge.”

Documents sent for approval to chairman

When concerned officials of the PCB were contacted, they said that the necessary documentation was completed in time and sent to Ashraf.

“We didn’t release salaries because Ashraf was yet to give permission and then he was suspended by the court,” said a PCB official. “So once the matter of the PCB chairman is resolved, we’ll release the payment.

“We also understand the problems players are facing.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2013.

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KARACHI: Pakistan’s snooker fortunes have been on the rise ever since Mohammad Asif became the IBSF World Amateur Champion last year and then the Asian 6-Red Champion recently. These successes have proved a beacon of hope for youngsters.

Humza Akbar and Mohammad Majid are two such gifted cueists, who have begun to showcase their talent at the international level with promising results.

Majid was runner-up in the Asian U21 Championship, while Humza displayed nerves of steel in the recently concluded Asian Team Championship where he won the singles matches to keep Pakistan in the hunt despite Asif losing the openers in the group stages.

“The international exposure has boosted my confidence as I helped Pakistan make a comeback twice in the Asian team event,” Humza told The Express Tribune.

“It was great to step up to help my team when the world champion had lost his opening matches and that gives you the confidence that you can compete with anybody.

“Majid and I are lucky that we attended a 10-day coaching clinic in Qatar which helped us pinpoint the areas where we can improve.”

The cueist said he was grateful to the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) for helping the players to exhibit their skills outside the country despite very limited resources, stating that such quality coaching clinics can take the game of Pakistani players to another level.

Both cueists returned to Pakistan recently with Humza already back to practising as he is determined to do well in the U21 World Championship, which starts next month in Beijing, China.

“I’m training for long hours in Faisalabad under the guidance of Asif. He has been acting as my mentor. To have a world champion looking after you really helps because you get to learn from his experience and that can play a crucial part in big events.”

‘PBSA will continue supporting cueists’

PBSA President Alamgir Sheikh said that any player demonstrating prowess would be sent to international tournaments as well as to the top coaching clinics globally.

“We’ve promised all players that if they produce good shows, their efforts will be recognised,” said Sheikh. “Coaching clinics play an important role in the development of a player and we’re keen to continue with the policy of providing potential cueists a chance to learn.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2013.

In the team’s final match, played on a format of 3-1-2, Farhan Mehboob helped the side gain a 1-0 lead after beating Dougie Kempsell in straight games with a scoreline of 11-3, 11-4 and 11-5.

However, Scotland hit back through Alan Clyne who dispatched off Pakistan’s top-ranked player Nasir Iqbal with ease 11-5, 11-4 and 11-7.

With the match evenly poised at 1-1, Greg Lobban downed Farhan Zaman with a scoreline of 11-2, 11-6 and 11-9.

The overall campaign saw Pakistan improve on their last-year’s show when they finished a poor 22nd and silence, to an extent, the critics who suggested the team would crash out in the group stage after being drawn with hosts France, Netherlands and Russia. But Pakistan ended up second in their group, just behind France, only to be drawn with eight-time world champions Australia in their last-16 clash. Head coach Jamshed Gul said he was satisfied with the team’s performance, adding that an improvement needed to be made.

“We targeted to finish in the top-eight and we almost achieved it,” Gul told The Express Tribune. “We were just unlucky to be drawn against Australia. But I’m still satisfied as they did well despite having limited opportunities to place at the highest level.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Pakistan are out of the running for the World Squash Team Championship title but that did not affect their performance as they defeated Canada 2-0 in the play-offs to move a step closer to achieving the highest possible ninth place at the event.

Pakistan will play the 9th-10th place play-off against the winner of the US-Scotland match today. Nasir Iqbal won a marathon encounter against Shawn Delierre with a scoreline of 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 and 3-11, while Farhan Zaman registered a 3-2 triumph over Andrew Schnell.

While the main agenda in France remained winning the rest of the matches, the Pakistan contingent is also strongly campaigning to convince top foreign players to participate in national events back home.

This is being done in a bid to convince the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to allow international entries in the country’s events.

Pakistan had recently successfully conducted the Asian Individual Championship in Islamabad which helped in rebuilding the trust of international players. Several foreign participants stressed that they felt safe and their perception had changed about Pakistan.

The country then received its due award as the Asian Squash Federation nominated Pakistan as the hosts for the 2015 Squash World Cup to boost the improving reputation.

The Pakistan Squash Federation now feels that the time is right for international players to be allowed to participate in PSA tournaments here.

“We’re trying to urge top European players to push the PSA for allowing international entries in Pakistan’s tournaments,” a team member told The Express Tribune.

“The response we have received from the players is amazing which shows they also want Pakistan to hold top tournaments because of our rich history.“

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2013.

KARACHI: The interim committee, backed by the government, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC), has disaffiliated more than a dozen sports federations and suspended several officials for five years for attending the meeting called by already banned Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) chief Arif Hasan.

The interim committee had warned officials not to attend the meeting as they deemed it illegal after Hasan and POA secretary Khalid Mehmood were suspended for life, but the meeting was still conducted.

In response, the interim committee sent a letter to the PSB and IPC informing them about the suspension.

The letter – sent by interim committee chairman Asif Bajwa to PSB director Amir Hamza Gillani – read,  “In pursuance of the decisions taken in the General Council Meeting held on June 8, following National Sports Federations (NSFs) and officials who attended an illegal meeting called by Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hasan being without any lawful authority, the NSFs stand disaffiliated from the General Council of POA and the individuals who represented such federations are banned.”

The federations which have been disaffiliated include baseball, handball, ju-jitsu, karate, rowing, rugby, swimming, softball, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wushu and the Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA).

The letter further read, “In view of the above, you are requested to kindly stop all facilitation like financial grants, issuance of NOC, organization of training camps, sponsoring of competitions at any level and use of Pakistan Sports Complex for any purpose.”

Officials banned for five years

Some of the officials who were sanctioned include Zafar Gujjar (kabaddi), Fawzi Khawaja (rugby) and Chaudry Mohammad Yaqoob (volleyball).

Meanwhile, the officials who were running parallel federations and attended the meeting have also been banned. The list includes Doda Khan (boxing), Idrees Haider Khwaja (cycling), Painda Malik and Ahmed Ali Rajput (gymnastics), Sibtain Rizvi and Hafizullah (table tennis) and Ahmed Ali Rajput (Sindh Olympic Association).

However, an interim committee official stressed that the athletes had nothing to worry about with regards to the ongoing saga. Once the elections of the POA are conducted next month, he said, they will be able to participate in important events.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Pakistan athletes are facing a dilemma in making a decision regarding their participation in the upcoming National Games.

The 32nd edition of the event is scheduled to be held on June 28 with the interim committee supported by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) organising the event.

However, provincial Olympic associations, backed by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), led by the banned Arif Hasan, have been warning athletes to refrain from taking part in these events. Repercussions of going against the warning would result in bans and fines against players, stated the associations.

Throughout the debacle, the POA has maintained that the PSB’s implementation of the National Sports Policy does not affect them as they are supported by the International Olympic Committee charter. Hence, the issue of serving more than two four-year terms is irrelevant.

“The athletes have been left in a difficult situation amidst the power struggle of these sports bodies,” an athlete told The Express Tribune. “We don’t know what to do and no one has guided us because we’re being told by our provincial association not to attend the National Games. This is not the ideal scenario for sportsmen, not knowing whether to train or not.”

On the other hand, interim committee officials have vowed to protect athletes.

“It’s wrong to put pressure on athletes. We did not stop anyone from taking part in the Games conducted by the suspended body earlier,” said an interim committee official.

“I can assure all the players that no one will face any problems. Our main focus is promotion of sports in Pakistan. We won’t tolerate any act of pressurising players to stay away from sports.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Hosts France humbled Pakistan 3-0 in their Pool C match to move into the last-16 phase of the WSF Men’s World Team Championship in Mulhouse.

Pakistan will now have to beat Netherlands in order to progress to the next stage otherwise they will be out of the title race.

Thierry Lincou thrashed Farhan Zaman in straight sets with game scores of 11-7, 11-2, 11-1, while Mathieu Castagnet won 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 against Farhan Mehboob.

Gregory Gaultier then rounded off a perfect win for the hosts by defeating Nasir Iqbal with a score line of 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 in 41 minutes.

“I’m very pleased overall with the team’s performance, they did the job,” said French national coach Renan Lavigne.

“We have a lot of respect for Pakistan, which is why we put out our strongest team. Lincou gave us a great start and Castagnet put in a good performance but I must say Mehboob has great racquet skills and is certainly top-20 material.”

Meanwhile, head coach Jamshed Gul said that Pakistan will try to do well in the must win game against the Dutch.

“We still have one game so I’m hopeful that we’ll do well against the Netherlands to move into the pre quarter-finals,” Gul told The Express Tribune.

“France are a very strong team and it reflects on the scores but there is always room for improvement.”

Meanwhile, the Netherlands beat Russia 3-0 in the other match of the group.

Other important matches saw Egypt wrap up an easy straight-games win against Scotland in Pool A while England overcame Canada in pool B.

In pool D, Australia breezed to a 3-0 win against Mexico whereas Malaysia fended off a challenge from New Zealand for a hard fought 3-0 victory.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Pakistan started their World Squash Team Championship campaign on a winning note as they thrashed Russia 3-0 in their Group C opener at Mulhouse, France yesterday.

Pakistan, seeded 14th at the event, got off to the perfect start as Farhan Zaman defeated Aleksander Shilov 11-3, 11-2, 11-1 in just 16 minutes before Nasir Iqbal ensured victory by dismissing Valery Litvinko in just 20 minutes with a scoreline of 11-6, 11-1, 11-3.

With victory in the bag, coach Jamshed Gul decided to rest senior player Farhan Mehboob and give a chance to Sheikh Saqib who did not disappoint and beat Dmitri Grishanin.

“It’s nice to get off to a good start in an important event as it eases the nerves,” Gul told The Express Tribune. “But we cannot get carried away because Russia are minnows and our real test will be against France and the Netherlands. We need to win at least one of those matches to ensure we progress to the knockout stage.”

The coach added that Mehboob would be the key player in the remaining group matches and the rest he got against Russia will keep him fresh for the tougher games.

“According to the draw, Mehboob will be playing third seeds of other teams so we’re confident of securing at least one point.”

In other matches of the group, third-seeded France beat the Netherlands 3-0. Top-seeds and defending champions Egypt made light work of Kuwait as they sailed to a straight-games victory in Group A.

In Group B, second-seeded England registered an easy win against Colombia 3-0, while fourth-seeded Australia won with a similar scoreline against Switzerland in Group D.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2013.

The general council meeting of the interim committee was called upon in Islamabad to discuss three important agendas. These included the upcoming 32nd National Games, candidacy for the POA presidency spot and to discuss the future of those individuals who represented their respective sports federations and attended the meeting called on by banned POA president Arif Hasan.

After considerable deliberation, it was decided that Sahi would be the new face of the POA when its elections are held on July 5. He will also be given power to choose his panel that would feature a secretary, vice-president and other officials for other posts.

However, despite being given the authority to select his own team, Sahi said he would welcome input and feedback from others, stating that the new body would be formed democratically through fair elections.

“I’m thankful to the house for placing faith in me,” Sahi told The Express Tribune. “But I welcome other officials to come up with ideas as it would bring in a healthy, competitive environment.”

Sahi added that resolving the POA dispute with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would be his top priority, saying that he will visit the governing body’s headquarters to apprise its officials of the situation in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that individuals who attended the meeting that was called by banned POA officials Arif and Khalid Mahmood are likely to face a five-year suspension, while their sports bodies might be de-affiliated by the interim committee and the Pakistan Sports Board.

The house also approved the list of events for the 32nd National Games, which will include 27 disciplines in the men’s category while 11 disciplines will be contested by the women athletes.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Pakistan survived a scare of missing out on the World Squash Team Championship in France as visa issues almost cost them dearly ahead of the mega event.

The team had to postpone its flight for a day after two of the four members of the squad were denied visas.

The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) had applied for visas for Nasir Iqbal, Farhan Mehboob, Farhan Zaman and Sheikh Saqib Yousuf. Interestingly, it also applied for visas for Aamir Atlas and his younger brother Danish.

In an interesting turn of events, the visas of Saqib and another important player were rejected, while Aamir and Danish, who were not named in the initial four-man squad, received theirs. Danish left the trials midway due to sickness.

The PSF made last-ditch attempts to persuade Aamir and Danish to join the team but, while Danish agreed, Aamir declined the offer.

Danish travelled from Peshawar to Islamabad to join the squad; while in the meantime, the PSF involved the foreign ministry and the Pakistan Air Force to resolve the visa issue.

Their efforts paid dividends as the two players were issued visas, leaving Danish’s fate hanging in the balance with PSF Secretary Abdul Wahab Marwat stressing that only initially named players will travel.

“There was a misunderstanding but everything is resolved and the same team will travel,” Marwat told The Express Tribune. “Danish wouldn’t be able to travel with us because we can’t take an extra player. So it’ll be the four players, coach Jamshed Gul and me as manager who will travel to France.”

Meanwhile, the travelling team has lamented the uncertainty and the handling of events by the federation before the championship.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2013.