http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/7877158.stm
January 17, 2012
Usain Bolt’s favorite team: Pakistan
January 15, 2012
Pakistani breaks indoor-rowing world record
Source: www.dawn.com
Mohammad Zubair in action at a gymnasium in Islamabad.—Dawn
ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Zubair broke the world record of individual longest continual rowing in Pakistan when he rowed 10 hours straight at a private fitness club on Saturday.
Under the supervision of both international and national rowing umpires from Pakistan Rowing Federation, the 31-year-old Mohammad Zubair broke the previous record of 7 hours 11 minutes and 22 seconds held by an Australian on the Concept II indoor rowing machine.
He stopped short of completing 100 kilometers for which he started again to finish the remaining 1,200 meters in roughly six minutes.
The record in this age group and weight category was of Shane Usher, Melbourne, Australia.
All necessary conditions had been met for continuous rowing and to break the record in single distance or timed pieces withoutintervals and starting from a nonmoving flywheel with the machine placed on a level surface.
Umpires occasionally checked the performance meter attached to the machine to record distances.
By the time Mohammad Zubair broke the record he had rowed 72 kilometers. That was equal to 13 laps of the Rawal Lake or rowing from Islamabad to as far as Mansehra.
Pakistans only International Rowing Umpire, and Executive Member of the Pakistan Rowing Federation, Imtiaz Ahmad Khan said indoor rowing was today a recognized sport around the world.
`The game requires athletes to row two kilometers. The athlete who rows the fasts wins the race. Pakistans Maqbool Ahmad who has participated in Asian and World Championships in indoor machine rowing holds the record of fastest covering of 2 kilometers in 6 minutes and 18seconds,` said Imtiaz Ahmad Khan a colour holder himself while his colleague Bronze Medalist and National Umpire, Pakistan Rowing Federation Shahid Nazir noted timings on his notepad.
The colour holder elaborated that unlike rowing on water, where records were broken every year because of different water and weather conditions around the world, this new world record set by Mohammad Zubair was for lifetime until somebody decided to hop on the machine and attempt to break it by rowing for more than 10 hours.
Mohammad Zubair, a Marketing Executive in Smarts, a private health and fitness gym in Islamabad, was the first Pakistani to take on such a challenge.
Mohammad Zubair started rowing at 10 am on Saturday morning and continued till 9 pm in the night setting a new world record of 10 hours.
July 24, 2011
Pakistani warrior Amir Khan wins IBF belt en-route to undisputed designation
Khan in green and whites...
May 3, 2011
Hashim Khan: Son of Pakistan and Champion of World.
It is amazing what our humble nation and our heroes can do with such little resources. Champions & World Leaders. This documentary is being made by an American.
March 29, 2011
Kashmiris in India praying for Pakistan in world cup semi
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Not everyone in India is hoping for a victory over Pakistan in the cricket World Cup: in Indian Kashmir, allegiance to the rival team reflects bitter feelings in the turbulent region.
Kashmir, a picturesque Muslim-majority Himalayan region that has sparked two wars between India and Pakistan, is split between the two countries but claimed in full by both.
In the highly militarised Indian part, anger over New Delhi’s rule runs deep. An Islamist insurgency has raged for the last two decades and the past three summers have seen huge street demonstrations.
From internet networking sites to social gatherings, most Kashmiris openly acknowledge their support for Pakistan in Wednesday’s semifinal clash with India.
“I am very tense and praying for the victory of Pakistan,” die-hard fan Mohammad Hafiz (65) told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
“Supporting the Pakistani cricket team is in our genes. It reflects our anger at India,” he said.
At the quarterfinal stage, Pakistan’s thumping victory over the West Indies was celebrated with fire crackers but India’s win against Australia passed without a murmur.
‘Distrust and alienation’
Security forces, who are constantly on patrol, try to prevent any sign of support for Pakistan, and locals say that hoisting a Pakistan flag would be a life-threatening act.
Cricket has been used as a platform for protests against India in the past.
Two one-day internationals were held in Srinagar in the past: against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies in 1983 and Allan Border’s Australia in 1986.
The Indian team lost both games and faced hostile crowds at the Sher-i-Kashmir stadium. No internationals have been staged there since.
The full-throated support for the West Indians in 1983 prompted Lloyd to wonder if the match had been played in the Caribbean.
“There is huge distrust and alienation among Kashmiris due to the wrong policies of India,” Gul Mohammad Wani, who teaches political science at Kashmir University, told AFP.
“In my opinion, these are the main reasons for the support the Pakistani team enjoys.”
Restoring peace
The match comes at a time when India and Pakistan are again engaging in peace talks with a view to permanently resolving a range of issues that bedevil their relations, including Kashmir.
Measuring public opinion in Indian Kashmir is difficult, but two surveys last year suggested a large majority favoured independence for the region from Pakistan and India.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the game with him at Mohali in what will be their first meeting since April last year.
“This is a positive development towards restoring lasting pace in the region,” said Mehbooba Mufti, president of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party in Kashmir.
“The fact that the Pakistani premier has accepted the gesture from his Indian counterpart is a clear indication that both the countries want to resume the highest-level dialogue process,” she said.
India broke off talks with Pakistan in 2008 in the wake of Mumbai terrorist attacks which left 166 people dead.
The gunmen who stormed the city travelled from Pakistan and India suspects they were given help by Pakistani intelligence officers. — Sapa-AFP
Win or Lose, this is a team we can be proud of.
Picture credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/cricket-world-cup/8412184/Cricket-World-Cup-2011-largest-security-operation-set-for-India-Pakistan-semi-final-amid-political-protest-fears.html
from http://www.dawn.com
SRINAGAR: People in Indian-administered Kashmir are hoping for a Pakistan victory when it takes on another sub-continent giant India in the second semi-final of the ICC cricket World Cup. Allegiance to Pakistan reflects bitter feelings in the turbulent region.
Kashmir, a picturesque Muslim-majority Himalayan region that has sparked two wars between India and Pakistan, is split between the two countries but claimed in full by both.
In the highly militarised Indian part, anger over New Delhi’s rule runs deep. An insurgency has raged for the last two decades and the past three summers have seen huge street demonstrations.
From internet networking sites to social gatherings, most Kashmiris openly acknowledge their support for Pakistan in Wednesday’s semi-final clash with India.
“I am very tense and praying for the victory of Pakistan,” die-hard fan Mohammad Hafiz, 65, told AFP in Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
“Supporting the Pakistani cricket team is in our genes. It reflects our anger at India,” he said.
At the quarter-final stage, Pakistan’s thumping victory over the West Indies was celebrated with fire crackers but India’s win against Australia passed without a murmur.
Security forces, who are constantly on patrol, try to prevent any sign of support for Pakistan, and locals say that hoisting a Pakistan flag would be a life-threatening act.
Cricket has been used as a platform for protests against India in the past.
Two one-day internationals were held in Srinagar in the past: against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies in 1983 and Allan Border’s Australia in 1986.
The Indian team lost both games and faced hostile crowds at the Sher-i-Kashmir stadium.
No internationals have been staged there since.
The full-throated support for the West Indians in 1983 prompted Lloyd to wonder if the match had been played in the Caribbean.
“There is huge distrust and alienation among Kashmiris due to the wrong policies of India,” Gul Mohammad Wani, who teaches political science at Kashmir University, told AFP.
“In my opinion, these are the main reasons for the support the Pakistani team enjoys.”
The match comes at a time when India and Pakistan are again engaging in peace talks with a view to permanently resolving a range of issues that bedevil their relations, including Kashmir.
Measuring public opinion in Indian Kashmir is difficult, but two surveys last year suggested a large majority favoured independence for the region from Pakistan and India.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani to watch the game with him at Mohali in what will be their first meeting since April last year.
“This is a positive development towards restoring lasting pace in the region,” said Mehbooba Mufti, president of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party in Kashmir.
“The fact that the Pakistani premier has accepted the gesture from his Indian counterpart is a clear indication that both the countries want to resume the highest-level dialogue process,” she said.
March 24, 2011
BANGLADESH ZINDABAD : We Pakistanis love your right back!
From http://www.dawn.com
Many Bangladeshi youth had painted their faces green and white, waved Pakistani flags with their own and chanted “Bangladesh Zindabad, Pakistan Zindabad.” -Photo by APISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cricket team enjoyed massive crowd support at the Sher-e- Bangla National Stadium Mirpur, Dhaka as it convincingly beat West Indies by 10 wickets in first quarter final of the 2011 World Cup.
Right from the start, the 25,000-capacity stadium was fully charged and supported only one team and it might as well have been a home game for Pakistan. Afridi’s men might face a different prospect as they head for the semis in Mohali, India but for the moment they were thankful to the fans.
“We would really like to thank all the people who came out here to support Pakistan,” Man-of-the-match Mohammad Hafeez said.
Many Bangladeshi youth had painted their faces green and white, waved Pakistani flags with their own and chanted “Bangladesh Zindabad, Pakistan Zindabad.”
While Pakistan’s crushing win over the Windies will be a moment of joy for their followers, it will also be sweet revenge for the Bangladeshi fans who had seen Darren Sammy’s side record a thumping win over the Tigers in the group stage of the World Cup.
February 27, 2011
Geoffrey Boycott on Pakistani nature & temperment
AR: Keith from Cape Town says, we have seen bowlers like Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan have a lot of initial success and then fall away. Most notably they lose pace after a year or two on the circuit. What do you think could be the problem? How can young fast bowlers guard against this? GB: Good question, Keith. I would like to mention two things here. One is to do with the food, diet and physical fitness of the Indian bowlers. The other is to do with the nature of the being. I have always thought of Indian people on the whole as gentle, nice, polite and warm people. When you are a fast bowler, you need to have some real aggression. You have got to hate the batsman to some degree when you are bowling. I am not sure that is in the Indian make-up. Most Indians are Hindu and they don’t eat meat and they eat very late at night. It’s not good to go to bed after eating around 10.30pm or later. Athletes around the world eat at a sensible hour, around 7 or 7.30 in the evening. And they work very hard at their physical fitness. India have never had an out-and-out fast bowler. They have had a truly great fast-medium swing bowler in Kapil Dev. They have had good, but not great, seamers. There are so many that come and go and are much of a muchness. They come on the scene and promise a lot, but after a couple of years they fizzle out.
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Pakistan, over their history, have delivered fast bowlers. They are meat eaters and are aggressive. You have Shoaib Akhtar recently. You have had Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, who have been fantastic, aggressive fast bowlers. I think it is in their nature. Also, pitches in India don’t help. You have flat pitches in Pakistan anyhow and they get through it. But they don’t have so many turning pitches in Pakistan; they are just flat. In India you have a lot of pitches that start very good and flat but then they start to take spin. So a lot of young kids turn to being a spinner. If you are going to help the fast bowlers, you need pace and bounce. You can have the [MRF] pace bowling academy [in Chennai] with Dennis Lillee, who is a champion. But after he has helped a lot of bowlers, if they are going to go and bowl on the flattest pitches of all time, then kids are going to go turn to something that will get them a bit of success, like batting or spin bowling.
February 27, 2011
England’s Ajmal Shahzad: My debt to Pakistan legends Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram
By Lawrence Booth in Dhaka
England’s new seam-bowling livewire Ajmal Shahzad has revealed his debt to wPakistan greats Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram as he sets his sights on a one-day international debut against Bangladesh on Sunday.
The Yorkshire quick believes his best chance of a long-term international career will be to master reverse-swing – a skill perfected by the Pakistani duo when they blew England away in 1992.
Shahzad has impressed during his brief involvement with the senior squad, taking two wickets in a feisty first over in international cricket during last week’s second Twenty20 against Pakistanin Dubai, then bowling Bangladesh Test batsman Shahriar Nafees for only 12 during Tuesday’s tour opener in Fatullah.
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Scroll down to see Waqar Younis at his best
Teacher/pupil: Ajmal Shahzad (above, and below left) gets swing bowling tips from former Pakistan bowler Waqar Younis
And his admission that he asked Waqar for reverse-swing tips while in the Middle East and regularly watches internet footage of Wasim will do nothing to dispel the impression he is keen to stand out from the crowd.
‘I want to learn the art of reverse swing,’ he said. ‘Waqar was commentating in Dubai, so I thought I’d better grab five minutes of his time. He told me how to grip the ball. I love watching his dismissals, especially when he used to york Hicky [Graeme Hick]. That was top-drawer!
‘I was also watching Wasim on Youtube. Waqar was more slingy, but Wasim had a straighter arm, like me, and he could swing it at will without changing his action. They’re both heroes of mine.’
The 24-year-old from Huddersfieldhas been limited to 22 first-class games and only 15 one-day matches in a career blighted by injury and held up by the seemingly endless supply of fast bowlers that has come out of Headingley in recent years.
But he caught Andy Flower’s eye in the nets in Pretoriabefore Christmas while on duty for the England Performance Programme, and had the confidence in Dubai to try a slow leg-break to Pakistan’s rampant all-rounder Abdul Razzaq at a crucial stage of the match.
That particular delivery may have disappeared back over his head for six in an over costing 17, but it’s a mark of his self-belief that he said he would do the same thing again.
Howzat:
