South Asian Games hero Awais ur Rehman remerge for revival of Pakistan’s hockey

ISLAMABAD, JUL 15: South Asian Games (SAG) 2016 hero Awais Ur Rehman who did decisive Goal for Pakistan to clinch the trophy by beating arch rival India on home ground, has been remerged to promote Hockey in Pakistan.

This Pakistani talented Striker has been taken as Brand ambassador by AAA Associates, A leading Group of Companies, to revive Hockey as national game of Pakistan to regain its lost sheen. 

This sponsorship will help him to overcome Financial constrain hindering his performance and to work toward restoring the importance of Hockey game in the country.

He appreciated the initiative taken by AAA associates for the sponsorship which will enable him to improve his skills and performance at every national and international tournament. He is also determined to take Pakistan to the highest level and rebuild the pride in Hockey.

This development will be very beneficial for the future of Pakistan’s Hockey as Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) gearing towards restoring ties with India to revive Hockey matches between two Historical rival countries.

PHF are expected to take up the issue on the sidelines of the 47th International Hockey Federation (FIH) Statutory Congress going to be held in New Delhi.

The meeting is aimed at electing FIH president and Executive Board members of the board for the next four years in office. More importantly, it provides an opportunity to the PHF officials to discuss the possibilities of regenerating hockey activities for the benefit of the both countries and hockey followers.

AAA Associates Managing Director Lt. Col Shahzad Ali Kiani (Retd) express his thoughts “ Awais Ur Rehman possess great potential to become rising star of Pakistan’s Hockey.

We want to elevate talent of Pakistan to its full potential to make our country proud. 

AAA associates will always support those talented youth that holds the key for revival of sport culture in Pakistan. Irrespective of any sports, we’ll continue to sponsors health-oriented activities across the country that play vital role in skimming out bright talent for our national and international sport events”.

AAA Chairman Mr. Shiekh Fawad Bashir enthusiast supporter of Hockey stated that the Pakistan, despite having poor infrastructure and lack of fundings , we still produce tons of talented players in every category of sports.

only there is a need to provide them right platform and support so they can demonstrate their unmatchable skills at national and international level.

AAA associates is fully committed to unearth young talent in sports to showcase the world real potential of Pakistan’s youth”.

AAA associates was a lead sponsor of Markhor Cricket Champion League which is the second most prestigious cricket tournament after PSL in the country.

The aim was to provide level-playing field to street talent to be noticed by selectors for national team and contribute in the success of the sport.

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Argentina win Copa America

Brasilia, JUL 11: Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 at Maracana Stadium in Brazil on Sunday to become the Copa America champion.

The first few minutes of the match Brazil came close to scoring.

It missed an important chance when Neymar failed to connect in the 13th minute.

Richarlison missed another in the 20th minute.

Argentina shocked Brazil as Angel Di Maria did not miss an opportunity to score with an excellent pass from Rodrigo De Paul and Argentina made it 1-0 in the 21st minute.

Di Maria missed a chance to make it 2-0 as Brazil's defense blocked his shot in the 29th minute.

The first half ended with Argentina in the lead.

Brazil was more aggressive in the second half.

Their first major attempt against Argentina's goal failed as Richarlison's finish did not count as the referee flagged the play for an offside in the 52nd minute.

He missed another chance to equalize two minutes later but could not beat Argentina goalie Emiliano Martínez.

Argentina expected a penalty as Messi fell in the penalty area but the referee dismissed it in the 63ed minute.

Nicolas Otamendi's hard tackle against Neymar started a tussle and resulted in two yellow cards to Otamendi and Marquinhos in the 81st minute.

Brazil's numerous attempts were fruitless and the 90 minutes ended 1-0.

Superstar Lionel Messi won his first major international trophy with Argentina with the victory.

He played for Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final in Maracana Stadium but lost to Germany.

Argentina became champions for the fifteenth time, sharing the record with Uruguay.

Their last Copa America championship was in 1993.

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COURTESY Anews

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3 England cricketers, 4 staff members test positive for Covid ahead of Pakistan series

LONDON, JUL 6: Three cricketers and four staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.

“In collaboration with Public Health England, Public Health Wales and Bristol Local Health Authority, those impacted will now observe a period of self-isolation from July 4 following the UK government’s protocol on quarantine,” the statement said.

The remaining members of the party have been deemed close contacts and will also isolate, the ECB statement said.

The first ODI will be played in Cardiff on July 8 (Thursday). The remaining ODIs will be played at Lord’s on July 10 and Edgbaston on July 13. The T20Is will take place on July 16 in Nottingham. July 18 in Leeds and July 20 in Manchester.

“The ECB have confirmed the Royal London ODIs and the Vitality IT20s against Pakistan will go ahead. Ben Stokes will return to England duties and captain the squad,” the statement said.

Commenting on the development, ECB chief Tom Harrison said that board was aware that the emergence of the Delta variant, along with the move away from the stringent enforcement of bio secure environments, could increase the chances of an outbreak.

“We made a strategic choice to try to adapt protocols, in order to support the overall well-being of our players and management staff who have spent much of the last 14 months living in very restricted conditions,” he said.

“Overnight we have worked swiftly to identify a new squad, and we are grateful to Ben Stokes who will return to England duties to captain.

“We also recognise the impact this news will have on our First Class Counties and their men’s playing squads and thank them, along with our partners Sky and Royal London, for their ongoing support in dealing with this pandemic,” he said.

England announces new squad

Hours later, the ECB announced a new squad for the three ODIs against Pakistan.

“Ben Stokes will return to the squad to captain the side and Chris Silverwood, who had been due to take some time away during the white-ball series, is back as head coach,” the cricket board said, adding that there were nine uncapped players in the squad.

“It’s a great opportunity to play on the biggest stage, and for most of the players selected it’s not necessarily something they would have been expecting 24 hours ago,” said ECB Managing Director Ashley Giles.

“It’s an exciting group of players, with some young talent and some players who have impressed at domestic level over a long period of time,” he said.

Giles said that the cricket board was in “unprecedented territory” in terms of replacing an entire squad and management team. “I’d like to also put on record the thanks of the ECB to the Pakistan Cricket Board for their support and understanding during this time,” Giles said.

England’s ODI squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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Striking Panther won the AAA Markhor Cricket Champion league trophy

ISLAMABAD, JUL 2: AAA Markhor champion league, Pakistan’s most distinguished Tape Ball Cricket Tournament, concluded in Jinnah Stadium Gujranwala, in which Striking Panther beats Eagle Eye in the final match to pull off the most coveted trophy.

The Chairman of AAA Associates, the lead sponsor of Markhor Champion League, Shaikh Fawad Bashir distributed prizes among the best performers of the tournament.

Eight Teams entered into a fierce competition to win the Trophy. The winning team, Striking Panther was awarded with prize money of 3 million Rupees and the runner up team, Eagle Eyes was awarded with cash prize of 1 million rupees.

The title of The Player of the tournament was conferred on Akbar Poli, who made 247 runs on the scoreboard by striking a haul of 31 sixes.

Ahmad Kulfi was proclaimed as the best bowler of the tournament for pulling off 10 wickets. Nasir Pathan was declared the player of the match as he trumpeted the highest score in the final battle between Striking Panther and Eagle Eyes.

Markhor Champion league, being consecutively successful for two years, has gained the status of the most distinguished Cricket Champion League, after Pakistan Super League (PSL).

This tournament is also endorsed by Punjab Sport Board to promote professional cricket at grassroots level. It provides an opportunity to the emerging talent of Pakistan to participate at national level tournaments.

Teams from all across Pakistan participate in this tournament with great enthusiasm to showcase their talent which can later be utilized in national and international tournaments. 

The Chairman of AAA Associates, Mr. Shiekh Fawad Bashir commended the efforts put by the management of the tournament and the enthusiasm of the participating teams by saying: “It was an exciting experience to see the potential and talent of the young players.

These tournaments offer great opportunities to fresh players to explore and carve out their space at national and international arena.”

The Managing Director of AAA Associates, Lt. Col (Retd) Shahzad Ali Kiani shared his thoughts: “Tape ball Cricket is a widely played sports format at grassroots level, which enables young players to groom their talent for the bigger tournaments.

AAA Associates believes in building communities with strong foundation to achieve their dreams. Sponsoring Markhor Champion League is a step towards our goal of developing professional foundation for rising cricket stars, who can further embark on the journey of a bright future of cricket in Pakistan.”

AAA Associate has long been supporting various sports event which are contributing toward nation building process and promoting sports culture among youth.

As part of their corporate social responsibility, AAA will continue to extend support in developing sports facilities across Pakistan and sponsoring sport events in order to project the potential of Pakistani youth  at both national and international platform.

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US Embassy & TIE organized 7th Edition of Pakistan’s Biggest Startup Cup competition

ISLAMABAD, JUN 29: The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Islamabad, in partnership with U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, concluded the seventh edition of the Startup Cup Finale. 

Over 500 startups competed in the various stages of the competition, which included coaching and business readiness workshops.  

From the final 15 startups, the first prize of 1 million rupees goes to Scaryammi, Pakistan’s first mothering community application. 

The second prize of 750,000 rupees goes to mimAR, a building visualization company offering interactive visualization for the real estate industry. 

MeraFuture, Islamabad’s startup offering artificial intelligence-based career counselling for 9th to12th grade students takes the rupees 500,000 third prize.

Regional Winners include: Mobiliti from Lahore, Poulta from Islamabad, Moogle Studio from Peshawar, Kaachi from Karachi, and Edjin Robotics from Quetta.

The Startup Cup is a local business model competition designed to increase the quality and quantity of entrepreneurs in Pakistan. This year’s event promises to show a unique virtual experience to those attending it.

“Our number-one goal for this competition is to encourage and support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan,” said Murtaza Zaidi, President of TiE Islamabad. 

“Through this competition, we can help budding entrepreneurs connect with successful businesspersons and prominent members of the startup ecosystem to gain the knowledge and expertise their business requires to prosper,” he added.

U.S. Embassy Minister Counselor for Public Affairs Raymond Castillo, noted, “It is exciting to see the level of creativity and business drive that the Startup Cup generates.  

The United States has a long and proud history of supporting entrepreneurs, and we are thrilled to be able to share this experience with Pakistan.” 

Senator, Sania Nishtar added, “Initiatives like the Pakistan Startup Cup are so important for Pakistan. 

With such a high percentage of youth in the country, it is important for our young population to entrepreneurial skills that TiE Islamabad that will not only help them but also create opportunities for others as their businesses grow.”

The Startup Cup is Pakistan’s largest startup competition.  TiE Islamabad, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, has increased the initial scope of the competition to include entrepreneurs from across the country, and has already helped over 2,500 startups grow.   For more information, see 

https://islamabad.tie.org/programs/current-programs/pakistan-startup-cup/

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