Sports

LAHORE: While incumbent Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja despite all rumours remains very confident publicly about his future in the PCB, one can recall his predecessor Ehsan Mani also gave positive signals about an extension for a second three-year term after completing his first in 2021. However, the facts at that time were telling a different story. The talk …

GILGIT: Two climbers from Nepal scaled Nanga Parbat, and two French mountaineers summited Diran peak on Saturday. Sakhawat Hussain, the managing director of Summit Karakoram, told Dawn that Naoko Watanabe from Japan and Sanu Sherpa from Nepal scaled Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest mountain at 8,126 metres, on Saturday at 5:14am. Nanga Parbat is often considered one of the most difficult of …

KHIMKI: US basketball star Brittney Griner went on trial in a court on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday to face drug charges that could see her face up to 10 years in prison. The case, which coincides with fraught relations between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Ukraine, was brought after Russian authorities said they found vape cartridges …

GILGIT: Seven climbing members of two foreign expedition teams on Friday scaled Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest mountain, also known as The Killer Mountain, making it the first summit of eight-thousanders in Pakistan this summer. Two women namely Kristin Harila, 36, from Norway and Grace Tseng, 29, from Taiwan were leading the two teams, 8K Expedition and Dolma Outdoor …

LAUSANNE: Semi-automated offside technology will be used at this year’s World Cup, promising decisions that are more accurate and a lot quicker, world football’s governing body FIFA said on Friday. In what can be considered an extraordinary development in the officiating of the game, technology will be able to resolve contentious offside calls with a speed and accuracy unimaginable less …

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Friday signed a long-term contract extension, putting an end to a lengthy saga about his future at the Premier League club. The Egypt international has signed an extension until 2025, with the deal coming after strike partner and Senegal forward Sadio Mane left to join German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on a three-year deal …

LONDON: Novak Djokovic comfortably reached the last 16 at Wimbledon on Friday while Maria Sakkari became the sixth top-10 women’s seed to crash out in the first week. Three-time defending champion Djokovic demolished Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 to stay on course to pull level with Pete Sampras as a seven-time champion, one behind Roger Federer’s men’s record. …

LAHORE: Three recent debutants were among the players named in the central contracts list for the national women’s team by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday. Spinner Tuba Hasan and batters Gul Feroza and Sadaf Shamas, who were capped in Pakistan’s recent home series against Sri Lanka, were awarded maiden contracts in the Category ‘D’. Veteran batter Javeria Khan’s demotion …

BIRMINGHAM: Virat Kohli became the latest high-profile wicket in paceman Matthew Potts’s fledgling England career as the India star’s long wait for another Test hundred continued on Friday. Kohli was out for 11 and India had declined to 98-5 in the delayed fifth Test at Edgbaston before Rishabh Pant counter-attacked in typical style. Pant’s quickfire 53 not out, and an …

KARACHI: It took nearly 15 months, but Pakistan has finally returned to the international football fold. FIFA announced on Thursday that the Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) suspension was being lifted after the global football body received confirmation that its appointed Normalisation Committee for the PFF had “regained full control of the PFF’s premises and was in a position to manage …