KHI 29-09-2012_Layout 1 9/29/2012 2:35 AM Page 19
Sports 18 Radwanska to face Petrova in Pan Pacific Open final
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royal Palm monthly medal golf LAHORE StAFF rePort
toKyo: agnieszka radwanska of Poland watches her return shot against angelique Kerber of germany during their women's singles semi-final match at the Pan Pacific open tennis. aFp TOKYO AFP
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Super rugby league first round begins today LAHORE StAFF rePort
The first round of 15-a-side Super Rugby League will begin today (Saturday) here at the Lahore University of Management and Sciences (LUMS) under the auspices of Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU). PRU spokesman said that in the first round, Inter University 15-side Rugby Championship was being played between Pakistan top universities. PRU president Fawzi Khawaja will be chief guest on the first day. First match of the day will be played between LUMS vs University of Lahore at 11am, while in the second match, UMT will face Garrison University. PRU president Fawzi Khawaja and Secretary Arif Saeed said: “We are delighted to start a big rugby league in Pakistan for the first time. It is the great time for Pakistan rugby and the players and we must found some new talent who may represent Pakistan at international level earn laurels for the country.”
lahore Sports t/20 from today LAHORE StAFF rePort
The Opening match of the Lahore Sports T/20 Tournament, 2012 will be played between Lahore Gymkhana Colts and DHA Sports at Bagh-e-Jennah Cricket Ground on Saturday (September 29, 2012). Nadeem Hassan Asif, Convener Lahore Gymkhana Cricket Club (Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Punjab) will be the chief guest of the inauguration ceremony. Rana Sohail Manzoor and Saghir Ahmed will supervise the match. Mr. Abdul Hameed will be the scorer.
eFeNDING champion Agnieszka Radwanska moved to within one step of retaining her Pan Pacific Open title Friday, overwhelming Angelique Kerber with a dominant performance in the semi-finals. The Polish third seed, who defeated 2010 champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the quarter-finals, needed just 59 minutes to score a resounding 6-1, 6-1 victory over the German fifth seed. In the final on Saturday, Radwanska will play Nadia Petrova of Russia, who defeated eighth seed Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2. "Actually, we played before a couple of times and it was always tough. even though it was 6-1, 6-1, it was still a very tough match. I really had to run
a lot to win the match," said Radwanska, 23. "She is a very smart player, she mixed up a lot of shots and she is a lefty, so it's always hard. I really had to stay focused from the beginning till the end to win the match. "Actually, I'm very happy that I played my best tennis," added Radwanska. Kerber, who received a free ticket to the semi-finals after world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus withdrew due to fatigue, struggled to keep her service games throughout the match. The German, who broke her opponent in the third game of the first set, had to wait until the first game of the second set to hold her game for the first time, hitting two aces in a row at 30-0, but that was the most she could do. Kerber, who double-faulted twice to give a 30-40 match point to Radwanska in the seventh game, tenaciously saved three match points
against her. But Kerber then hit a backhand return wide to surrender the match on Radwanska's fourth match points. Looking ahead to the match against 17th seeded Petrova, Radwanska said: "For sure, she is a very good player and she is playing great tennis this week." "It's going to be tough, for sure, it will not be easy. I'm just very, very happy that I reached the final again. Of course, I'll do everything tomorrow to have the title," she added. Meanwhile, Petrova pulled off an early break in each set and never faced a serious situation in the 107-minute match. "It was really a good match," said Petrova. "Samantha played very well, she defeated Maria (Sharapova of Russia), one of the top players right now, but I had a good performance and I'm very happy that I served out at the end."
The star golfers of Royal Palm Golf and Country Club like Amir Mehmood, Mir Maaz Mehmood, Shoaib Bokhari, Shahid Abbas and very young Hussain Hamid will assemble at the par 72 Royal Palm Golf Course on Saturday for an 18 holes competition. They will a demonstration of their golf playing skills and emerge at the end of the 18 holes competition with score cards that are in line with their established reputations. While Amir is the guy with the soft swing, Mir Maaz started golf when he was an infant and even when he is out of practice he can hit real straight and not stray from the fairways, making a lot of his rivals envy him over this talent and skill. As for Shoaib Bokhari he can play steady golf, virtually in every competition and perhaps this 18 hole outing will be no different. The golf course was looking great and all ready to provide substantial challenge to these long hitters of the ball. But as is well known to all the 64 competitors participating in this event, it is not the long hitting that can carry you through. The greens and the golf play around them tend to eat up a golfers shots and that is where the composure has to be kept in control to avoid bloating the score cards with unnecessary stroke losses, and that is where experience helps the seasoned competitors and tilts the winners status and honors in their favour. Out of the other participants who hope to halt the march of the established ones are golfers like Moeen Salahuddin, Hameed Sharif, Hamayun Mian, Imran Mian, Dr.Mohsin Anwar, Max Babri and Naseer Akhtar. Most of the have them have shown considerable ability in their golfing skills and are likely threats to the strong contenders in this encounter. Here is wishing them well. The tournament will tee off at 1pm through a shot gun start at the Royal Palm Golf Course.
national gym in t20 final LAHORE StAFF rePort
djokovic eyes world number one title this year TAIPEI AFP
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic aims to reclaim the world number one spot by the end of the year, he said during a promotional tour to Taipei. Djokovic was knocked off the world number one ranking when Swiss legend Roger Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title and 17th career Grand Slam title in July to reclaim the position he last held in May 2010. "That's one of the goals. Of course I want to be number one of the world again. It's an ambition. It's possible (by) the end of the year," Djokovic told reporters. "I try to focus on each tournament individually and see how it goes. I need to play really well because there are so many great players in this moment... so we'll see." After a remarkable 2011, when he recorded one of the greatest individual seasons in tennis history and a dominant start to 2012, Djokovic has
come up short in the last two Grand Slams, losing to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final and Federer at Wimbledon. SERENA WITHDRAWS fROM cHINA OPEN: Reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the China Open because of flu while her sister Venus has also pulled out, citing a back injury, organisers said Friday. Serena, who confirmed her place among the tennis greats this year by raising her Grand Slam haul to 15 and winning Gold at the London Olympics, pulled out late on Thursday, just two days before the start of the first round. It is a big blow to the organisers of the Beijing event as the world number four -- who has already qualified for the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, next month -- is one of the tour's most bankable stars. "We would have loved for Venus and Serena to play the China Open this year, but unfortunately players get injured and sick and are unable to compete," Charles Hsiung, a director of the tournament, said.
The National Gymkhana cricket team moved into the final of the Razia Baig T20 Championship beating its rival Mozang Link by five runs here. National Gym made 184 for five and in reply, Mozang team could reach 179 for seven. The final will be played at Lahore Gymkhana ground on Monday. earlier, Ali Garh beat Zareef Memorial by six wickets in the other semi-final.
laHore: the chief guest meets the national gymkhana team before the match.
Li denies added pressure of playing at home BEIJING AFP
Home favourite Li Na on Friday denied she felt added pressure going into the China Open -- an event she has never won -- as the first round draw handed her the toughest of starts. Asia's top women's player, who is banking on a strong performance in Beijing to reach this season's grand finale, will face Italy's Francesca Schiavone, a former world number four, in a repeat of the 2011 French Open final. Li defeated Schiavone, who was defending champion, 6-4, 7-6, to win her first Grand Slam but the Chinese star has
struggled with consistency this year and faces a fight to make October's WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. The 30-year-old seventh seed, who is desperate to hang onto the eighth position she needs in the race to reach the end-of-season tournament, said she did not feel the burden of expectation by playing in front of home crowds. "There's pressure everywhere, right? I mean if you're an athlete you have to be used to that so I'm feeling the same," Li said, adding that if she isn't able to put up a strong showing it may be her last event of the season. "It's the same (as other) tournaments. It's a big tournament in China, big
tournament in Beijing and also I think maybe it's my last tournament of the year, maybe not" she added, saying that she is "still look-
ing to make the Championships". Li has had an indifferent year, winning in Cincinnati last month, which was followed by a third-round exit at the US Open two weeks later and a last-16 defeat to Caroline Wozniacki at the Pan Pacific Open earlier this week. Her recent disappointments mean she has to do well in Beijing, something she didn't do in 2011, if she is to have a chance of reaching the $4.9 million season climax. "I know I didn't do well last year, but that doesn't mean anything for this year. So I'm really looking forward to this tournament," said Li, who last time round lost in straight sets to Romanian Monica Niculescu in her opening match.
Saturday, 29 September, 2012