Sports

LAUSANNE: Gafur Rakhimov stepped down as head of the AIBA, world amateur boxing’s governing body, on Friday amid a spat with the International Olympic Committee that could see the sport kicked out of the 2020 Tokyo Games. The Uzbek businessman has been engulfed in controversy since he was elected in November because the US Treasury Department has linked him to …

MIAMI: Canadian teenage sensation Bianca Andreescu pulled off a Miami Open great escape by fighting back from a set and match point down to beat a dazed Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in the first round on Thursday. The 18-year-old who stunned the tennis world last week by winning her first career title at the BNP Paribas Open in …

KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators, the Pakistan Super League champions, are going to Quetta on March 23 with the PSL trophy to celebrate with the fans on Pakistan Day. The Gladiators contingent will be headed by the owner Nadeem Omar while others include captain Sarfraz Ahmed, head coach Moin Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Ahsaan Ali, team manager Azam Khan and media …

Peshawar Zalmi medium-fast bowler Hassan Ali nabbed an award for being the highest wicket-taker in PSL on Sunday. The bowler captured 25 wickets at an average of 13.64 in 13 matches. This became yet another victory for the Zalmis who celebrated the news But Hassan had someone else to celebrate this victory with as well, as a fan account found …

KARACHI: Defending champion and second seed Mohammad Asif suffered humiliation as other seeded cueists were home on the opening day of 44th National Snooker Championship which commenced at the Karachi Gymkhana on Wednesday. Drawn in group B, senior player and former world champion Asif was caught on the wrong foot and that too at the hands of wildcard Mubashir Raza …

LAHORE: While the long-serving Pakistan team manager Pakistan Ayesha Ashar has been removed, former captain Urooj Mumtaz has replaced Jalaluddin as head of the women’s selection committee, the PCB said in a media release on Wednesday. Another ex-Pakistan women’s team member Marina Iqbal joins the all-female selection panel which includes Asmavia Iqbal as the only survivor of the previous committee. …

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Wedne­sday said that promotion of football would be encouraged at national level. Presiding over a meeting of the committee formed for promotion and development of football in the country and to make concrete and coordinated efforts to provide better opportunities to the youth, he said that Pakistan has huge potential for the game. …

SHARJAH: Illness is complicating Australia’s plans for their ODI series opener against Pakistan, with Glenn Maxwell unable to train on Wednesday. Maxwell was a notable absentee from Australia’s main session in Sharjah prior to Friday’s five-match series opener at the same venue. It came a day after Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon were both told to skip training. Lyon had …

SHARJAH: Preparing to confront an inexperienced Pakistan outfit coached by Mickey Arthur, Australia have done their homework. There was a sense of familiarity when Justin Langer’s team landed in India last month, preparing to square off against a side that had recently spent two months in Australia. The same can’t be said of the five-match ODI series that starts in …

Australian skipper Aaron Finch hopes his team carry the momentum of a series win in India to their five-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Pakistan starting in Sharjah from Friday. The Pakistan series is the last chance for Australia to fill any gapes before they defend their title in the World Cup starting in the United Kingdom from May 30. …