SSGC, ASM reach PFF Cup final round

KARACHI: Despite being reduced to 10 men, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) reached the final round of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Cup, taking Ashraf Sugar Mills (ASM) along with them after they edged past Pakistan Steel 2-1 here on Saturday.

Group ‘I’ had been reduced to three teams following the withdrawal of Chaman’s Social Welfare Team (SWT) and having been thrashed 6-0 by ASM on Thursday, Pakistan Steel needed victory at the KMC Stadium to stay in contention.

But despite taking the lead through Nasir Ahmed’s 15th-minute strike, Pakistan Steel failed in their quest to reach the final round of the event which begins from February 9 in Lahore.

SSGC, though, made it through when Saeed Ahmed levelled matters in the 25th and despite being at a man’s disadvantage when Zahid Nadeem was sent off in the 51st, Abdus Salam’s winner took them through.

While matches of groups ‘I’ and ‘II’ in Karachi have gone on without any trouble, inclement weather has led to a fixture pile-up and rescheduling in Group ‘III’ and ‘IV’ which are being played in Lahore and Islamabad, respectively.

A bad pitch at the FAME Football Club ground in Lahore saw the game between Pakistan Railways v Insaf Afghan Goods Trading Company (IAGTC) being postponed and will be played on Sunday.

A water-logged pitch at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad also saw the game between Pakistan Television (PTV) and Bhatti United being moved to Sunday.

Friday’s Group IV match in the capital between Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) will also be played on Sunday.

Sunday’s fixtures:

Group ‘II’: Karachi United v Sindh Government Press; Pakistan Police v Gwadar Port Authority.

Group ‘III’: Railways v Insaf Afghan Goods Trading Company.

Group ‘IV’: Pakistan Television v Bhatti United; Higher Education Commissionv Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited.—Sports Reporter

Table tennis event progresses

LAHORE: A heavy schedule of matches in both men’s and Women’s singles and team events was completed on the third day of the All Pakistan Chromatex Master’s Cup Table Tennis Tournament here on Saturday.

In the men’s singles, 13 matches, including five quarter-finals, were decided. In the women’s singles, seven matches were staged.

Results:

Men’s singles: Irfan Pirzada (Wapda) bt Fahad Khan (KP) 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9; Mustafa Ali (Railways) bt Faham Khan (Punjab) 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8; Bilal Tariq (Sindh) bt Mehdi Raza (Sindh) 11-3, 116, 11-9; Kamran (Sindh) bt Haseeb (Islamabad) 15-13, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9; Salman (Sindh) bt Raheel Qureshi (Sindh) 11-7, 11-3, 7-11, 11-7; Irtiza Ali (Railways) bt Yasir Bhatti (Punjab) 10-6, 10-7, 8-10, 10-7.

Men’s singles (Quarter-finals): Mohammad Hamza (HEC) bt Umair Hassan (Chromatex) 7-11, 12-10, 13-15, 11-05, 10-12, 11-2, 11-6; Salman Virk (Railways) bt Abdul Israr (Wapda) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6; Hafiz Zeeshan bt Tariq Aziz 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7; Bilal Yasin (Wapda) bt Awais Hassan (Chromatex) 11-7, 77-5, 11-9, 11-7.

Women’s singles (Quarter-finals): Loiza Irshad (Wapda) bt Sadia Raheel (Railways) 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 15-13; Sobia Faryal (Wapda) bt Farah Ilyas (Railways) 11-8, 11-9, 11-5; Sidra (Wapda) bt Farwal Ali (Wapda) 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8; Ayesha (Wapda) bt Sana (Wapda) 6-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9; Farwa Babar (HEC) bt Haleema Ali (Sindh) 11-9, 11-03, 11-6; Nosheen (Punjab) bt Abeera (Sindh) 11-5, 11-9, 11-6; Sanam Yasin (Wapda) bt Sabab Mushtaq (HEC) 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 11-9.

Women’s team event (semi-finals):

Wapda bt Punjab 3-1: Sanam (Wapda) bt Fatima Khan (Punjab) 8-11,11-7,11-5,11-5; Nosheen (Punjab) beat Sidra (Wapda) 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6; Sobia (Wapda) bt Yasmeen (Punjab) 11-3, 11-9, 11-6; Sanam (Wapda) bt Nosheen (Punjab) 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6.

Men’s team event (semi-finals):

HEC bt Wapda 3-2: Afzal (HEC) bt Faryal (Wapda) 11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9; Bilal (Wapda) bt Hamza (HEC) 9-11, 10-11, 11-12, 11-1, 11-7; Hafiz Zeeshan (Wapda) bt Subhan (HEC) 9-11, 15-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6; Bilal (Wapda) bt Afzal (HEC) 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4.

Railways bt Punjab 3-0: Sulman (Railways) bt Waheed (Punjab) 11-9, 12-10, 12-10; Asim (Railways) bt Arbeel (Punjab) 11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6; Yasir (Railways) bt Saeed (Punjab) 11-8, 11-9, 11-2.—Sports Reporter

Javaid, Afzaal secure knockout berths

KARACHI: Seven more players joined top seed Abdul Javaid and sixth seed Mohammad Afzaal by storming into the knockout round in the eighth National Under-21 Snooker Championship at a local hotel on Saturday.

The seven includes last year’s runner-up Abdul Raheem (group A), Haris Tahir and Adil Zafar (group B), Mohammad Adil and Mohammad Saqib (group C), Mohammad Ahmed (group E) and Abubaker (group F).

The remaining three cueists will complete the last-12 line-up on Sunday, the last day of the league matches.

Of the 12, four best performers will advance into the quarter-finals directly where they will be joined by as many winners of the last-12 round.

Results: Muzammil Khan (Sindh) bt Hashir Siddique (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 3-0 (57-20, 70-28, 49-7); Abubaker Jamil (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Tanveer Baloch (Sindh) 3-0 (67-46, 88-4, 48-45); Abdul Raheem (Punjab) bt S. M. Suleman (Sindh) 3-0 (78-48, 74-19, 68-31); Haris Tahir (Punjab) bt Hammad Shaikh (Sindh) 3-0 (83-24, 63-21, 62-27); Mohammad Saqib (Punjab) bt Zubair Shamsi (Sindh) 3-1 (75-20, 36-70, 69-12, 62-15); Usama Haneef (Punjab) bt Mohammad Aftab (Balochistan) 3-0 (55-24, 75-18, 57-29); Mohammad Ahmed (Punjab) bt Rabish Parvaiz (Balochistan) 3-1 (30-75, 55-40, 51-21, 60-33); Fareed Firdous (Sindh) bt Taimoor Aftab (Balochistan) 3-1 (first frame awarded Firdous, 46-41, 35-74, 62-8); Abdul Javaid (Punjab) bt M. Junaid Akhtar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 3-0 (74-21, 54-24, 72-22); Ghawish Khan (Sindh) bt William Leffourgue (Islamabad) 3-2 (28-52, 31-71, 77-72, 55-23, 55-34); Mohammad Adil (Balochistan) bt Mohammad Ibrahim (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 3-0 (51-28, 51-45, 51-28); Hammad Rasool (Islamabad) bt Mohammad Ibrahim (Balochistan) 3-1 (55-23, 67-33, 29-60, 54-44); Mohammad Afzaal (Punjab) bt Tanveer Baloch (Sindh) 3-0 (73-32, 80-7, 58-13); Abdul Raheem (Punjab) bt Mohammad Farooq (Balochistan) 3-0 (54-31, 67-7, 52-20); Adil Zafar (Punjab) bt Hammad Shaikh (Sindh) 3-0 (85-1, 75-12, 77-42).—Sports Correspondent

Danish, Farhan beat rivals to march to final

LAHORE: Top seed Danish Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob on Saturday marched to the final of the DCO Lahore National Squash Cup 2016 with contrasting victories in the semi-finals at the Punjab Squash Association courts here on Saturday.

In a thrilling encounter, Danish edged past Sheikh Sakib in the first semifinal to seal 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5 victory while Farhan ousted his younger brother Waqar Mehboob 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 in just 13 minutes in the other pre-final.

After winning the closely-fought first game, Danish made some unforced errors helping Saqib improve his game to level the score.

However, Danish did not panic. After being tied till 6-6, Danish gradually increased his lead and finally won the third game after dropping just two points.

Saqib looked tired after giving tough time to his rival in three games with Danish quite easily winning the fourth game and the match to book a place in the final.

In the women’s singles semifinals, Riffat Khan and Madina Zafar set the date for the final with the former toppling Rushna Mehboob 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 in just 29 minutes in the pre-final.

The second semifinal, which lasted 21 minutes, witnessed Madina Zafar outpace Saima Shoukat 11-4, 11-9, 11-9.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016