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SA Cricketers
to Tour Pak from Sept 22 KARACHI: South African cricketers will tour Pakistan from September 22 to October 28, Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Tuesday. During their 36-day trip, the visitors will play three one-day internationals, as many Test matches, a three-day first class game and one warm one-day game, the News reported. Shoaib Keen
on a Kent Contract (Go
To Top) CAPE TOWN: Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that he wants to sign a contract with English county Kent for the coming season. 'The News' reported that Shoaib has informed them in writing that Kent want to sign him on for the coming season and that he himself is interested in playing for them against a lucrative package. Shoaib has sent in copies of his contract to the PCB for clearance and approval. Shahid Afridi, sources said, had also submitted his papers with the PCB as another county, Derbyshire, want him for this season. However, since Pakistan is due to tour England to play three One-day Internationals in June and also has other commitments between May and August, the players have been told they would have to take leave from their counties if required for national duty. Pak Pugilists
to Reap Golden Crop as India Pull Out of SAF Games (Go
To Top) KARACHI: Pakistani pugilists are likely to grab 8 of 9 gold medals in 11 weights boxing competition in the IX SAF Games following pull-out by India, reports the News. Prof Anwar Chowdhry, Pakistan boxing boss, expressed his disappointment over the decision of Indian foreign ministry not to send their contingent across the border to participate in the mega regional sporting event that starts from March 29 to April 7 in Islamabad. "The competitiveness of the SAF Games will be lacked by India's pull-out and our boxers will dominate the event in the absence of their arch-rivals," he said here on Monday while terming the Indian decision as 'unfortunate' one. He expressed the hope that though Pakistani athletes, particularly pugilists, were likely to reap a golden crop in the event yet Sri Lanka and Nepal would not make their task easier in certain games. "The boxers from Sri Lanka will pose a challenge in lightweight divisions such as light-fly and flyweight whereas Nepalese boxers may be a threat for our boxers in bantamweight and featherweight," said Prof Chowdhry, who is also president of AIBA, the International amateur Boxing Association. Pakistani pugilists would compete in ten out of eleven weights as the SAF Games organisers made it mandatory for every country to enter their ten boxers. "We are not entering our boxer in welterweight contest," he said. He said that his apprehensions regarding India's participation in the SAF Games proved right and the organisers should have organised them last year. The SAF Games were initially scheduled for October 2001 but were postponed due to 9\11 attack on US and were again deferred in March 2002 owing to the Indo-Pakistan standoff. India
Not To Take Part in SAF Games in Pak (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: Citing security reasons, the external affairs ministry has said that India will not take part in the upcoming South Asian Federation (SAF) Games to be held in Pakistan. The 15-discipline SAF Games start in Islamabad on March 29. Addressing reporters in the regular briefing on Monday, MEA spokesman Navtej Sarna said, "as far as the South Asian Federation Games are concerned, the Government of India feels that participation at this stage is not advisable due to security concerns for our athletes." It may be recalled that heightened tensions persist between India and Pakistan amid allegations by the former that the latter is involved in cross-border terrorim in Kashmir. Pakistan has been consistently denying the charges saying it was simply supporting the "freedom struggle" carried on by Kashmiris. Reacting to the Centre's decision, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi urged the Government to "reconsider" its decision. "Traditionally the Government has accepted that they might not send the cricket team but in Olympics' (events) we were always allowed to participate and we do not know what are the circumstances," said Kalmadi. Following the heightened tensions, the Union sports ministry had stopped all bilateral cricket matches between the two countries. But it never opposed the national side playing against Pakistan in multi-lateral events at neutral venues. The two countries will face each other in a Group A match in the cricket World Cup at Centurion in South Africa on March 1. Earlier, last week an Indian squash team had travelled to Pakistan to participate in the Asian junior championships held in Islamabad. Sunita
Rani's Big Day in Delhi (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: It was a moment of immense joy and pride for middle distance runner Sunita Rani who got her Asian Games medals back on Tuesday at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi. Rani, 23, was stripped of her gold and bronze medals she won in 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres following a positive test for the banned steroid Nandrolone at the games in Busan, South Korea, in October last year. Rani was given clean chit by various national and international bodies including the Olympic Council of Asia and Amateur Athletic Federation of India. Speaking at the ceremony, president of the Indian Olympic Association, Suresh Kalmadi, demanded legal action against South Korea's sports laboratory. "We would like to know what action the OCA (Olympic Committee of Asia) and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is going to take action against the Busan laboratory that gave wrong report against Sunita Rani. We want action to be taken." he said. Indian athletics officials had contested Rani's positive test on the ground that there had been discrepancies in the testing procedure at the Seoul-based doping laboratory. The doping charge created a major uproar and spoiled India's celebrations after a haul of 11 gold medals, seven of them from the track and field. Rani expressed happiness over the restoration of her medals. "I am feeling very good after getting the medals back, I have won. I feel that such a lab should be closed that has harassed me so long, for three months. As far as my detractors are concerned, God will punish them," she said. Rani, who also won a silver medal in the 5,000 metres and a 1,500 metres bronze at the 1998 games in Bangkok, had maintained that she was innocent and would be cleared of the charge. -ANI |
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