Pakistan's First Chairman Bahria Town Night Golf Championship 2021 concludes

ISLAMABAD, AUG 30: The "Chairman Bahria Town, Night Golf Championship" organized and sponsored by AAA ASSOCIATES has concluded on 28th August 2021. The tournament commenced on 23rd August 2021.

More than 50 Top Professionals competed on 23rd & 24th August for a cash prize of Rs 3 Million, 80 Club Members of Golf City Golf Club played for 16 individual prizes on 25th August. On 26th August, 12 Corporate Teams, including WAPDA, PTC, HUAWEI, and HASHOO GROUP, Competed for 3 Team Trophies as well as 8 individual prizes. 27th August was Ladies & Junior’s Night, in which 52 Golfers competed for 28 individual prizes.

The awards were distributed by Chief Guest Chairman Wapda Lt. Gen(r) Muzzamil and Dr. Asma Afzal Shami. Other dignitaries gracing the occasion were, Chairman AAA Associates Mr Sheikh Fawad Bashir, MD AAA Associates Shazad Ali Kiani, President Golf City Golf Club Cmdr(r) M. Ilyas and Secretary Garden City Golf Club Bahria Town Brig(r) Saeed Zafar Dar. 

Chairman AAA Associates Mr Sheikh Fawad Bashir professed his gratitude towards Bahia Town’s Management for granting them the opportunity to organize this tournament which provides a platform for the local community to interact with each other via sports.

MD AAA Associates Shazad Ali Kiani also expressed his appreciation towards all the partakers of the tournament and vowed to continue organizing more sports’ activities for the general populace.

The Grand Finale was played by Diplomats and around 50 Senior Golfers. Over 80 prizes were awarded to the winners. The prize distribution ceremony was followed by a buffet dinner with live Qawali music.

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Afghan Paralympians ‘extremely emotional’ after Tokyo arrival

KABUL, AUG 29: Afghanistan’s two athletes made an “extremely emotional” arrival at the Tokyo Paralympic Village, Games chiefs said Sunday, after a top-secret flight from Paris following their evacuation from Kabul.

“Both athletes are here in Tokyo to fulfil their dreams, sending out a very strong message of hope to many others around the world,” said International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence.

Khudadadi and Rasouli were welcomed to the athletes’ village on Saturday night by IPC chief Andrew Parsons and IPC Athletes’ Council chairperson Chelsey Gotell, as well as the Afghan team’s chef de mission Arian Sadiqi.

“As you can imagine, the meeting was extremely emotional,” said Spence.

“There were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It really was a remarkable meeting.”

The pair spent a week in Paris at a French sports ministry training centre following their evacuation from Kabul.

Sprinter Rasouli was scheduled to compete in the men’s T47 100m but arrived too late for Saturday’s heats.

Instead, he will enter the T47 long jump final on Tuesday, while Khudadadi will compete in the women’s taekwondo K44 -49kg category On Thursday.

“Every day we’ve checked in on primarily their mental health, because as you can imagine, the situation they’ve gone through in the last few days is a serious one,” he said.

Their arrival comes after Afghanistan’s swift fall to the Taliban earlier this month left them among the tens of thousands trapped and unable to leave the country.

At Tuesday’s opening ceremony, the Afghan flag featured in a symbolic fashion, carried by a volunteer.

Spence said the two athletes would not speak to reporters while they were at the Games.

He said organisers wanted to avoid “a selfie-fest” with other athletes taking pictures in the village, but stressed that the pair would be allowed to mingle.

“We’re not saying ‘you shouldn’t just stay in your apartments and not go out’,” he said.

“We’re saying, once you’ve gone through your three-day quarantine, you need to fulfil this experience of being at the athletes’ village’.”

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have promised a softer brand of rule compared with their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.

But many Afghans fear a repeat of their brutal interpretation of Islamic law.

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COURTESY Anews

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Babar Azam pads up for noon academy, picks strategic stake in education business

KARACHI, AUG 27: Pakistani cricket team captain Babar Azam join hands with the social learning platform Noon Academy as its brand ambassador and as an investor to help promote the company’s mission of providing free education in Pakistan. He joins a list of growing cricketing and non-cricketing stars and teachers who have invested in the start-up. With these investments, Noon becomes the most funded start-up from Pakistani investors.

Noon Academy is one of the largest EdTech firms in the MENAP region offering local curriculum for grades K-12 and entrance exams. It has served more than 13 million students across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan. In Pakistan they offer classes for all leading broads including Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Cambridge (O&A levels). Since its Pakistan launch in September 2020, the organization has registered over 2 million local students in less than a year.

This is something that caught the attention and interest of Pakistani skipper, Babar Azam;“I am absolutely honoured and delighted to be associating with an Education Technology company which has students’ needs at the core of what they do. Noon’s mission and resolve matches with my personal vision to work for the betterment of the future generations.”

Access to quality education is one of the areas in Pakistan that requires major focus from all sides. According to UNICEF 22.8 million of Pakistan’s over 70 million children are out of school. “Noon’s focus on providing free quality education by creating holistic learning solutions that go beyond traditional forms of education has helped the organization to radically change the way people learn.” He further added that,“My core reason for partnering with Noon is the values that the brand has been built on. Their belief on putting the students’ needs at the forefront of their strategy is what differentiates them from other players in the industry.”

In his message to fellow countrymen, the skipper said, “Cricket in Pakistan is a medium that unifies the entire nation but also gives us cricketers invaluable lessons which can help individuals in any walk of life. Given the right platform I would love to share my experiences of the game with students to inspire them to be the best versions of themselves.”

Sharing his thoughts, Umair Babar Chishti, General Manager Noon Pakistan, said, “Babar’s formidable rise to success backed by his work ethic, grit and determination makes him the perfect role model for kids across Pakistan. With him on board, we are confident of strengthening the engagement with our consumers and building greater visibility for Noon across Pakistan. Having Babar Azam as Noon’s brand ambassador and now, an investor elevates the brand proposition and shows students that through hard work, mentorship and right set of  work only the sky is the limit.”

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Ramiz Raja to take over as PCB Chairman

LAHORE, AUG 26: Ramiz Raja is all set to be the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The decision follows a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, who gave the go-ahead for the change of guard at the PCB. Raja will replace Ehsan Mani once the succession process is complete.

Both Ramiz and Mani met the Prime Minister on Monday (August 23) afternoon. After the meeting Ramiz, a former Pakistan captain, told Cricbuzz, 'I have given him (Imran Khan) my plans. He will make a call," and decided to wait to hear from the PM's office. Eventually, the decision was made three days later.

Ramiz confirmed that he has accepted the job. "The aim is to reset Pakistan cricket's GPS and will be in pursuit of excellence," Raja, who was also a Chief Executive Officer of PCB, told Cricbuzz on Thursday (August 26).

Meanwhile, Imran is understood to have asked Mani - whose three-year term ended on Wednesday - to ensure a smooth transition of power. Mani (76), an experienced hand in cricket administration, both at the PCB and the International Cricket Council (ICC), was seen as too old for the job, which necessitated high amounts of energy, particularly at the ICC forum, where the PCB is left with very few friends.

Also Mani's constant posturing against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a powerful body at the ICC, did not leave him with too many friends in India. On the other hand, Ramiz has no shortage of friends in India, which is an advantage for Ramiz.

Ramiz's appointment will entail a bit of a process. His name first will be forwarded to the Board of Governors of the PCB, being one of the two nominees. Following this, there could be an election if another BoG member wants to contest, but normally, a PM's nominee is unlikely to meet any resistance. When nominated by Imran three years ago, Mani was elected unopposed. In the same way, Ramiz should find his way to the top position.

The second member to be nominated by the Prime Minister is believed to be a noted businessman - Asad Ali Khan. There are seven on the BOG currently - four independent directors, CEO (Wasim Khan) and two nominees of the Prime Minister.

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COURTESY cricbuzz

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Tokyo Paralympics begins in Japan: Ambassador MATSUDA extends good wishes for Pak Athletes

ISLAMABAD, AUG 23: After an impressive Tokyo Olympics finished on August 8th, the Tokyo Paralympics begins tomorrow! Overall theme for both the Olympics and Paralympics is “MOVING FORWARD” and the theme for the opening ceremony for the Paralympics is “WE HAVE WINGS”.

MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, wishing success to the two Pakistani athletes, Mr. Haider Ali and Ms. Anila Baig, participating in the Tokyo Paralympics said “Congratulations to the athletes, coaches, supporting staff and the families of Pakistan’s Paralympic Team for their resilience to compete in the Games especially during the time of challenging COVID-19 situation. I am sure that the Pakistani Paralympians will do their best for their country.”

While expressing his good wishes and solidarity on the occasion of Tokyo Paralympics, the President of Pakistan's Milestone Society for Special Persons, Muhammad Shafiq ur Rehman, also congratulated the Pakistani athletes for their dedication and hard work for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. He mentioned that “Due to the COVID- 19 situation, Pakistan team could not participate with a large contingent but still we are praying and hoping for the two Pakistani athletes to perform well and win medals for the country.

Mr. Shafiq, in his message on the occasion, also extended his gratitude to the Japanese people with disabilities who had donated wheelchairs to Milestone Society for Special Persons in 2002. That donation from our Japanese friends helped us to start sports activities for persons with disabilities here in Pakistan and also introduced wheelchair cricket as a new game in the world.

"Our heart is full of respect and love for our Japanese friends. We have a spiritual relation which is getting strengthened every time new sun rises. Long live Pakistan Japan brotherhood” said the President of Milestone Society for Special Persons.

" We have received very precious support by the Embassy of Japan and developed the first center with full accessibility of international standard in Lahore Pakistan. We are also very thankful to the Embassy of Japan to ensure the accessibility for the wheelchair users at their premises.”

"Our Japanese friends always supported us with great knowledge and resources" he further said.

It is pertinent to mention here that Tokyo becomes the first city which hosts Paralympics twice in the history.

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