PAF won 3-1 despite conceding a goal early in the 27th minute, courtesy NBP’s Muhammad Asif. PAF captain Muhammad Mujahid equalised in the 52nd minute, while Muhammad Arif doubled the score in the 73rd. He went on to strike another goal in the third minute of extra-time to seal the win.

PAF play Pak-Afghan Clearing Agency (Paca) in the quarter-final today, while NBP will play defending champions KRL.

“We are the under-dogs,” PAF coach Arshad Khan told The Express Tribune. “My team has maintained its form since the Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL). We finished fifth because we skipped our last four PPFL matches otherwise we played well throughout the season. I’m sure we can do the same in the Challenge Cup. I’m confident we can beat Paca to qualify for the semi-finals.”

Higher prize money in this year’s edition

Meanwhile, the last eight teams will be vying for a prize-money of Rs300,000, an amount which was Rs200,000 the previous year.

According to the tournament manager Rauf Bari, the PFF increased the total prize-money of the tournament from Rs600,000 to Rs700,000 this year.

“We increased the budget for the tournament this year,” said Bari. “Even though the total cost of holding the Challenge Cup is Rs3.5 million, the Bahawalpur Football Association is collaborating with us so we had the leverage to boost the winners’ purse.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2013.

KARACHI: The National under-18 team powered its way into the quarter-finals of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Challenge Cup 2013 despite making its first appearance at the event.

The team thrashed Faisalabad’s Bhatti United FC 5-2 at the Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur, taking the lead in Group C with four points.

Mansoor Khan netted four times, while Muhammad Riaz contributed a goal in the team’s impressive victory.

Khan, touted as the best emerging striker at the national level, scored his first goal in the 20th minute on a penalty kick as the U18 boys led 2-0 at the interval. Bhatti United FC levelled in the second-half, but Mansoor scored in the 78th, 81st and 85th minutes to seal his side’s win.

“My bet is on the national under-18 side winning the tournament,” a PFF official told The Express Tribune. “I think they can win the tournament only if they get past clubs like KRL and KESC.”

Meanwhile, SSGC crushed Police 4-0 for third position in Group B. KESC and Wapda have already qualified for the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Defending champions succumb to shock defeat

However, the biggest upset of the tournament came when Pak-Afghan Clearing Agency (PACA) defeated defending champions KRL 2-1 in their Group A match on Saturday night.

The win means PACA now lead Group A with four points. They qualified for the quarter-finals while KRL stayed in second place with three points. They will play their last group match against HBL today.

“I’m not worried about losing to PACA,” said KRL striker Kaleemullah. “KRL is the best club in the country and these local tournaments will help us prepare for international events.”

HBL claimed two points after recording a draw against Ashraf Sugar Mills 1-1.

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

PAF thrashed hosts Bahawalpur 8-0 while NBP recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory against HEC at the Dring Stadium.

PAF began their second match of the tournament with confidence as Irfan Ali scored the opening goal in the 20th minute and doubled the lead after a minute. His fellow striker Arif Nawaz scored in the 36th as PAF led 3-0 at the interval.

PAF continued to dominate in the second-half as Ali’s third goal of the match came in the 48th minute. He went on to score his hat-trick in the 58th minute.

Meanwhile, Nawaz scored his second goal in the 78th minute and captain Muhammad Mujahid along with striker Rafiullah scored a goal apiece.

PAF’s match against Bahawalpur was originally scheduled to take place in the evening at the Swimming Pool Football Ground but due to the deteriorating pitch, the matches were shifted to the morning session.

According to the match commissioner Rauf Bari, the organisers shifted all the matches that were scheduled to take place at the Swimming Pool Football Ground to the Dring Stadium.

“We changed the venue because the pitch at the Swimming Pool Football Ground was deteriorating,” Bari told The Express Tribune. “We have now scheduled the matches in the morning. The temperature here was 25 degree centigrade in the morning compared to evening temperate which was 39 degrees.

All the teams are happy about our decision.”

In the other match, NBP beat HEC 2-0. NBP striker Faisal Iqbal scored the opening goal of the match in the 30th minute as Farooq Shah sealed the victory with his late goal in the 84th.

Elsewhere, Wapda defeated Pakistan Police 1-0 and KESC outplayed SSGC 2-1 in the late night Group B matches.

In today’s fixtures, Army will face PIA in their last Group C match while KESC will conclude the first round of matches when they take on Wapda.

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

KARACHI: Pakistan’s campaign at the World Table Tennis Championship came to a screeching halt as none of the country’s four players were able to book a place in the main round of the event underway in Paris.

Pakistan’s three players in the men’s event, Yasir Bhatti, Saleem Abbas and Bilal Yaseen, and the country’s lone representative in the women’s category, Shabnam Bilal, were unable to make the cut in the last-128 and were sent packing in the preliminary round yesterday.

Pakistan players concede final matches

However, the surprising bit was that Pakistan players did not even bother taking part in their last match with all four of them conceding their final group match.

Bhatti and Abbas also skipped their men’s doubles match against Belgium’s Robin Davos and Cedric Nuytinck in the second pre-qualifying round.

“We skipped our final matches because there was no point — we didn’t think we could compete with the international players,” Bhatti told The Express Tribune.

“The tournament has been an eye opener for us because we realised that we are not at par with international players. We were just waiting for the last list of the main draw. We hoped that we would get a wildcard but we didn’t. It’s disappointing to come all this way and lose badly. I think the tournament began on a rough note for us.”

Pakistan squad had reached Paris on Monday and missed their opening matches at the event after failing to arrive in time. After their opponents were given walkovers, the Pakistan men’s team lost all its matches on day two with Shabnam recording a lone win and a defeat in her encounters.

However, the final day was marred with disappointment with Pakistan players not even bothering to show up for their final games.

Bhatti said the team suffered since it failed to appear at the Commonwealth Championship in India that took place from May 5, adding that the event would have served as a good warm-up for the world championship.

“We missed the Commonwealth Championship in India which cost us heavily. If we had participated in India we would’ve gotten a fair idea before the world championship.”

PTTF unperturbed

When asked about the players’ absence from the final matches, the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) remained unperturbed.

“They appeared in the event on their own and paid for their own expenses,” said a PTTF official.

“The Pakistan federation cannot react on this since the players appeared in an individual event and
were not representing the PTTF.”

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

KARACHI: After failing to appear in their matches on the opening day, Pakistan players suffered losses on the second as the World Table Tennis Championships continued in Paris.

The four-member Pakistan squad faced embarrassment on the opening day as they failed to arrive at the venue on time, stating that their connecting flight to Paris from Dubai was delayed.

However, the team failed to put up a meaningful performance when it finally did appear in its matches with the men’s squad losing their respective games.

While Pakistan requested the organisers to reschedule their matches, the appeal was rejected, according to Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) Vice-President Saleem Ahmed.

“It was unfortunate that the flight delay cost our players their opening matches,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “It’s embarrassing but in international tournaments we can’t expect the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to make changes in the schedule.”

However, Pakistan player Yasir Bhatti said the team still had a good chance of progressing to the main round.

“We had a tough day and it’s not easy to win a match after a very tiring journey,” said Bhatti. “But we can’t afford to lose this opportunity because players are bearing all the expenses. I don’t want to waste my money by not playing the remaining matches. I still believe we have a good chance in the event.”

On the second day, Bhatti lost to Denmark’s Kasper Sternberg 4-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4). Bilal Yaseen was defeated by Korea’s Kyungmin Kim 4-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3) and Saleem Abbas was outplayed by Romania’s Hunor Szocs 4-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6).

However, there was slightly good news in the women’s category as the country’s lone female player at the event, Shabnam Bilal, defeated Armenia’s Tamar Aghayan 4-0 (11-7, 14-12, 11-7, 12-10), but lost to Brazil’s Jessica  Yamada 4-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7) in the women’s singles pre-qualifying round.

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

KARACHI: There was finally some good news for Pakistan football on the international front as KRL progressed to the final stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President’s Cup, an achievement that was duly lauded by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).

KRL demolished Bhutan league champions Yeezdin FC 8-0 in their final group game, much to the delight of PFF Secretary Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi who said it was a victory for Pakistan football.

“It’s a win for Pakistan,” Lodhi told The Express Tribune. “I’m impressed and extremely happy with their performance. They are Pakistan’s premier club and showed why.

“KRL tackled FC Dordoi in their opening match. They defeated the home team Global FC in style as well. It’s been a good campaign so far.”

KRL and Kyrgyzstan’s FC Dordoi, who have previously won the AFC President’s Cup, qualified for the final stage of the tournament with seven points each, leaving behind Philippines’ Global FC and Yeezdin FC in Group B.

The two teams will now play the final stage in September with Nepal’s Three Star Club and Mongolia’s Erchim FC who qualified from Group A along with Turkmenistan’s FC Balkan and Palestine’s Hilal Al-Quds FC from Group C.

According to Lodhi, even coach Tariq Lutfi proved that his team can produce players with a temperament for the international matches. He praised the club for qualifying for the final stage for the second successive time.

A leap for Kaleemullah

Lodhi also heaped praise on KRL’s star striker Kaleemullah, who scored five goals in the rout against Yeezdin FC.

Kaleemullah was previously criticised for his poor show for the national side and Lodhi was relieved to see him deliver the goods.

“I’m relieved he finally scored,” said Lodhi about the 21-year-old striker, who scored 32 goals in the Pakistan Premier Football League. “He struggled with the national side. So I’m glad Kaleemullah has proved his doubters wrong.”

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

KARACHI: The Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) will hold the International Taekwondo Demonstration on May 14 in Islamabad featuring 20 Korean athletes to promote diplomacy through sports

According to PTF secretary Wasim Ahmed, the demonstration by the Korean athletes will celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Korea. The athletes have already arrived for the event.

Ahmed says the performance by the Korean athletes will be a prelude to the ninth Korean Ambassador National Taekwondo Championship 2013. However, he said the highlight of the national championship will be the introduction of the electronic system by the PTF.

“The electronic system is the same one that was used in the Olympics last year,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune. It will monitor the player’s technique and accuracy. This way they will not be able to cheat.”

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

KARACHI: KRL opened their campaign at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President’s Cup with a draw against Kyrgyzstan club FC Dordoi 1-1 at the Cebu Sports Centre in the Philippines yesterday.

FC Dordoi were given the lead through Kharchenko Vadim in the 23rd minute with KRL heading for the half-time interval trailing 1-0. However, KRL were awarded a penalty kick in the 50th minute with captain Samar Ishaq finding the net to level the score.

KRL coach Tariq Lutfi was satisfied with the team’s performance that earned them a point in their opening Group B match. However, the official added that an improvement was needed, singling out his team’s attack as the area of concern.

“It was a satisfactory performance but we need to be better than this,” Lutfi told The Express Tribune. “The penalty kick was helpful but I would want my forwards to be more attacking in our next match. The remaining two games are extremely important.”

KRL will now play hosts Global FC tomorrow before contesting their final game against Bhutan’s Yeezdin FC on May 12. Ishaq said the match against Yeezdin FC would be easier.

“Global FC will play on their home-turf and have experienced players who compete in different international tournaments throughout the year. We want a win against Global FC or at least score more than two goals to ensure a good goal-difference if the points at the end are equal.”

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

KARACHI: Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer’s challenge at the Madrid Open men’s doubles event came to an end with a straight-sets defeat to Jeremy Chardy and Lukasz Kubot 6-2, 7-6 in the second round yesterday.

The Pakistan tennis ace and his partner were outplayed in the opening set but, despite putting up an improved show in the second, were knocked out by the France-Poland pair.

The defeat was the pair’s second successive loss this week with the two going down in the final of the Portugal Open on Sunday.

However, Aisam said he was confident over the duo’s chances in Rome before they gear up for the French Open.

“I need a week to recuperate from the exhaustion,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “Our aim is to do well at the French Open. Both Madrid Masters and Rome Masters will help us prepare for the Grand Slam.”

Djokovic blames lack of preparation

World number one Novak Djokovic believes his preparation for the Madrid Masters was badly affected by not being able to practise due to an ankle injury after he was knocked out in the second round of the men’s singles event by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (8-6), 6-7(8-10), 6-3.

Djokovic had recovered from rolling the injured right ankle whilst playing for Serbia against the US on Davis Cup action last month to claim his first clay title in the Monte Carlo Masters a fortnight ago.

However, he said he did not know whether he would even take part in the Spanish capital until Saturday, although he also acknowledged that he had been beating by the better player on the evening.

“I didn’t prepare myself so well, but, look I’m not trying to find any excuses for the loss,” said Djokovic. “I tried to do my best in this moment, and maybe my best is not like it was in Monte Carlo.

“All the credit also to Dimitrov, because he was the better player on the court. He was striking the ball really well, serving great, changing the pace, and he deserved to win, as I said.”

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

KARACHI: Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation (KESC) are seeking to take home the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Challenge Cup title this year which will begin from May 15 in Bahawalpur.

The Karachi-based club will be looking to outclass Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) during the knock-out tournament which will run for two weeks, while KRL will be striving to win the trophy for the fourth time in a row since 2009.

On the other hand, KESC have finished second for the past two years. According to their captain Essa Khan, the team has a better chance of winning against the defending champions this year.

“The Challenge Cup is always like a preview to the Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL),” Essa told The Express Tribune. “We’ve been playing really well for the last two years, and this time I think my team is really motivated. We are hungry for a title at the moment and we hope we will get it.

“We didn’t win the PPFL and finished second there and moreover, our players were ignored for the national camp too. So there are many factors. We will be just trying to prove ourselves in this tournament. We just want to defeat KRL and Army in the tournament now.”

The tournament will be featuring the top seven clubs of the country from the PPFL 2012 season and nine teams from the Division B league.

The teams include KRL, KESC, PAF, Army, NBP, PIA, HBL, Pak Afghan Clearing Agency, Sui Southern Gas Company, HEC, Bahawalpur FC, Bhatti United FC, Pakistan Police, Ashraf Sugar Mills and the national under-18 team.

PFF signs deal to facilitate sport

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has signed an agreement with Forward Sports International Sialkot, a company that will provide football kits, uniforms and 2000 footballs to the federation each year for international tournaments.

“It’s going to benefit the national team, the national under-21 side, the women’s teams and also the club teams if they are playing abroad,” said PFF official Naveed Haider.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.