Pa k i s ta n w i n 1 5 t h w e s t a s i a B a s e B a l l C u P

Islamabad

Ag

PA K I S TA N Baseball team won the 15th West Asian Baseball cup after thrashing their Palestinian counterpart in the final by a leading margin of 11-03 at Pakistan Sports Complex here on Wednesday Pakistan has also qualified for Asian Games and Asian Championship after lifting the title Pakistani captain Faqir Hussain stood as the top scorer (03 runs) of the match, Arsalan Jamshaid, Muhammad Hussain and Fazil Khan scored 02 runs each while Shahzad Ahmad and Muhammad Younas scored 01 runs each The Palestine team only managed to get 03 runs and was declared the runner-up of the championship Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Ehsan-re-Rehman Mazari and US ambassador Donald Blome witnessed the final and distributed medals and trophies among the winners Both teams have qualified for the Asian Baseball Championship in Taiwan, a qualifying tournament for the Baseball World Cup Meanwhile Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 3-1 for the third position in the championship Amila, Sindon and Roshan scored one run each for Sri Lanka while Muhammad Musabbaral scored the only run from Bangladesh Pa l e s t i n i a n b a s e b a l l t e a m v i s i t s H e C : The baseball team of the State of Palestine, currently in Pakistan for the 15th West Asia Baseball Cup visited the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and held a meeting with Chairman HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmed

The visiting team was accompanied by the First Secretary Embassy of the State of Palestine in Islamabad Mr Nader al-Turk while Executive Director HEC Dr Shaista Sohail and other senior HEC officers were also present in the meeting

A d d r e s s i n g t h e t e a m , t h e C h a i r m a n

Chelsea inks argentine star Fernandez from Benfica for British-record transfer fee

ISTANBUL

Ag e n c i e s

Chelsea on Wednesday signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British-record transfer fee on an eightand-a-half-year contract, the Portuguese club confirmed on Wednesday Benfica informs that it has reached an agreement with Chelsea FC for the sale of all the rights of the player Enzo Fernandez, for an amount of €121m ($131 8 million), Benfica said in a statement Benfica will still have to deliver to River Plate the amount corresponding to 25 percent of the transfer value deducted from the amounts of the solidarity and intermediation services ” it added The 22-year-old Argentine is the currently most expensive signing in Premier League history, eclipsing the $123 million Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021 Fernandez who formerly played for River Plate, was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning campaign in Qatar 2022

3rd allama iqbal Polo tournament: stage set for semifinals tomorrow

LAHORE s tA f f R e P o R t

Diamond Paints (DP) and SQ Seagold from Pool A, while Remington Pharma and Master Paints/Newage Cables from Pool B qualified for the semifinals of the 3rd Allama Iqbal Polo Tournament sponsored by Lahore Smart City here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Wednesday

Thus on Friday the first semifinal will be played between Diamond Paints and SQ Seagold, while the second semifinal will be played between Remington Pharma and Master Paints/Newage Cables In the first match of the day, Remington Pharma qualified for the semifinals by defeating 4 Corps polo team 6-5 For Remington Pharma, Hamza Mawaz Khan and Ahmed Bilal Riaz scored two goals each while Ahmed Zubair Butt and Basel Faisal Khokhar converted one goal apiece From the losing side Raja Muhammad Mikayial Sami fired in four goals while Ibrahim Khalil struck one In the second match of the day, Master Paints/Newage Cables defeated Inara Polo/Black Horse Paints by 8½ -4 Raja Temur Nadeem smashed in six goals while Adnan Jalil Azam and Farooq Amin Sufi hit one goal each from Master Paints/Newage Cables while they had a handicap advantage of a half goal

HEC referred to the 15th West Asia Baseball Cup final between Pakistan and Palest i n e a n d u n d e r l i n e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s p o r t s a c t i v i t i e s f o r y o u t h H e s a i d t h a t HEC/Pakistan University Sports Board is committed to providing all possible sports facilities to student players

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed informed the dignitaries that an international Vice Chancellors conference of the Islamic world universities will be held in the near future He added that Islamic countries are considering launching a fully-funded scholarship programme for Muslim youth He said, We feel the pain of Palestinian brethren and our leadership always does whatever possible for the Palestinians ”

In his remarks on this occasion, Mr Nader al-Turk appreciated the Pakistani nation for extending support to the Palestinian cause We acknowledge Pakistan s continuous support to the State of Palestine he underscored He said that the Palestinians in Pakistan do not feel like foreigners, but that they feel at home thanks to the affection and respect they receive from the Pakistanis He appreciated the Palestinian team for qualifying for the final

It is pertinent to mention here that seven teams, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh India Palestine Sri Lanka and Nepal took part in the West Asia Cup held in Islamabad Pakistan sealed the victory over Sri Lanka by 16-1 whereas Palestine defeated Bangladesh by 14-3 in the semifinals

Paris 2024 organisers to abide by IOC decision on Russia’s par ticipation

PARIS

R e u t e R s

Paris 2024 organisers insisted they would abide by the International Olympic Committee’s decision on Russian and Belarusian athletes participation in the Games after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the governing body into banning them from the sport’s extravaganza

L a s t w e e k , t h e I O C s a i d t h e

O l y m p i c C o u n c i l o f A s i a h a d o ff e r e d R u s s i a n a n d B e l a r u s i a n a t h l e t e s t h e chance to compete in Asia, drawing an outcry from Kyiv which has called for Russian sportspeople to be banned over Russia’s invasion

Zelenskiy said that allowing Russia to compete at the 2024 Games would be tantamount to showing that “terror is somehow acceptable Belarus has allowed Moscow to use its territory as a staging post for what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Monday that the IOC was “promoting violence, mass murders, destruction and that a Russian presence at the Games would constitute giving the country “a platform to promote genocide “ A s t h e c o n f l i c t c o n t i n u e s , P a r i s

2 0 2 4 w o u l d l i k e t o e x p r e s s i t s f u l l s o li d a r i t y w i t h U k r a i n e , i t s p e o p l e a n d t h e U k r a i n i a n O l y m p i c a n d P a r al y m p i c m o v e m e n t s w h o a r e f a c e d w i t h a n u n i m a g i n a b l e c r i s i s , ” P a r i s 2 0 2 4 t o l d R e u t e r s i n a w r i t t e n s t a t em e n t o n We d n e s d a y s t r e s s i n g t h a t t h e I O C h a d t a k e n s e v e r a l m e a s u r e s a g a i n s t R u s s i a a n d B e l a r u s

In response to this the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has taken a number of sanctions since February 2022 including: no international sports event is organised or supported by an International Federation or National Olympic Committee in Russia or Belarus; “No flags, anthems, colours or any other identification of these countries are displayed at any sporting event or meeting, including at all venues; “No representative of the Russian government or state shall be invited or accredited to any international sporting event or meeting ”

A c c o r d i n g t o P a r i s 2 0 2 4 t h o s e s a n c t i o n s “ d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y a ff e c t t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f R u s s i a n a n d B el a r u s i a n a t h l e t e s i n c e r t a i n q u a l i f y i n g e v e n t s f o r P a r i s 2 0 2 4 ”

Paris 2024 explained that their hands were tied on who could qualify for the next Summer Games

“With regard to the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris 2024 Games, it should be recalled that the qualification system is determined by the international federations the IOC and the IPC (International Paralympic Committee)

Our wish is that the Olympic movement, the Paralympic movement and the athletes experience the Paris 2024 Games in a spirit of peace respecting the values of fraternity and solidarity ” The Paris 2024 Olympics will be held from July 26-August 11 and the Paralympics from August 28-September 8