Sports

KARACHI: A persistent back problem has hampered Mohammad Ashfaq’s rise to the top table of Pakistan golf. But on Saturday at the Defence Authority Country & Golf Club, the mercurial talent showed exactly why he remains one of the most exciting golfers on the local circuit when he finds his range. With a bogey-free 65, Ashfaq took a three-shot lead …

MELBOURNE: World number one Novak Djokovic pulled out of an Adelaide exhibition because of a blistered hand on Friday before appearing on court to play a set after all, helping his compatriot Filip Krajinovic beat Jannik Sinner. Djokovic was scheduled to kick off the “Day at the Drive” event in front of a crowd of 4,000 at Adelaide’s Memorial Drive …

KARACHI: The 38th Foundation Public School (FPS) Premier League commenced here on Friday at the FPS A Level Campus. More than 1500 students are taking part in the League which comprise as many as 40 events including cricket, football, basketball, badminton, throwball, athletics and table tennis. Two new events, namely e-sports and cycling, have been introduced this year. A total …

HAFIZ Salman Butt had an icy stare. He could leave one frozen with his gaze. Yet those steely gray eyes had a sense of longing in them, a vision unfulfilled, a residing pain. Salman loved football and wanted to see Pakistan reach new heights in the sport. If, ever, Pakistan football reaches those heights Salman wanted to take it to, …

KARACHI: Central Punjab kept alive their dreams of annexing a major title for a second straight time after crushing Pakistan Cup table-toppers Sindh by 127 runs to seal place in the final of the 50-over competition here on Friday. In the first semi-final at the SBP Sports Complex, Sindh were left to rue the decision to bowl first after their …

KARACHI: The expressions of rival captains — Babar Azam of Pakistan and his South African counterpart Quinton de Kock — during their virtual media conferences on Friday depicted the mood in the respective camps. Babar, who is rated shy when it comes to speaking, singled out the quality of Pakistan spinners as the reason of South Africa’s first defeat here …

MELBOURNE: Australian Open players were given the green light to begin exiting Covid-19 quarantine on Thursday after spending two weeks strictly confined to a bio-security hub. The first group among the 960 players, coaches and officials isolating at three Melbourne hotels were allowed to leave from 6 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), with the rest expected to depart by Sunday, …

COLOMBO: The International Cricket Council (ICC), the game’s global governing body, on Thursday found former Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige guilty of three charges relating to corruption during the inaugural T10 tournament in Sharjah. Lokuhettige was found guilty on all three counts after being formally charged in November 2019 before a three-member tribunal, the ICC said. It said sanctions …

KARACHI: South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took his 200th Test wicket against Pakistan in Karachi on Thursday, saying it was a massive feat to join a club of great players. The 25-year-old dismissed Pakistan’s Hasan Ali for 21 on the third morning of the first Test to reach the milestone in his 44th match. Rabada made his Test debut …

AMONGST the cricketing nations, South Africa is uniquely placed. It is not only one of the three founding members of the ICC, like England and Australia, it made headlines across the world when it was expelled from international cricket because of its government policy of racial segregation known as the ‘Apartheid.’ Apartheid is a law which did not allow the …