Cycling: Kruijswijk stretches lead, Valverde bags maiden Giro win MILAN—Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk moved closer to a history-making Giro d’Italia triumph Tuesday after stretching his lead over Esteban Chaves and Vincenzo Nibali in a thrilling 16th stage won by Alejandro Valverde. Kruijswijk, of the Lotto team, started the hilly 132 km race from Bressanone to Andalo with a 2min 12sec lead on Colombian Chaves (Orica) and 2:51 on 2013 champion and pre-race favourite Vincenzo Nibali (Astana). Kruijswijk didn’t have enough in the tank to stop Movistar team leader Valverde, 36, from claiming his maiden stage win on the race after a two-up sprint at the finish. After leaving Nibali nearly five minutes in his wake however, he said: “I wanted to give my team a win but it’s an ideal situation for the pink jersey as I’m now three minutes ahead of Esteban Chaves and the others.” On his Giro debut, Movistar leader Valverde has done better than expected as years of racing experience, and good
Blind World T20 postponed for 2 months
legs, came to the fore for the Spaniard when he launched a telling attack inside the final 15 km. “It’s a good day for me as I move up in the overall standings, although I wanted a stage win as a gift for the mechanics, soigneurs, directors, my family... all the people who have helped me overcome the day I had on Saturday because of the altitude,” said Valverde. “We wanted to break the race up today. It’s a great feeling to win for the first time at the Giro.” Chaves crossed the finish line 42secs in arrears, with Nibali finishing nearly two minutes behind alongside compatriot Domenico Pozzovivo. Chaves remains second but is 3:00 behind Kruijswijk, with Valverde moving up to third at 3:23 and Nibali, the 2014 Tour de France champion, dropping one place to fourth at 4:43. Italian champion Nibali had been at the forefront all day but came up short on the final climb, the Fai della Paganella, following an attack by Valverde.
There were only 15 kms remaining and Kruijswijk was quickly on to the Spaniard’s wheel. Nibali, by this time, had used up most of his fuel. He was dropped back to a chasing group that contained Chaves. Nibali has now lost time to Kruijswijk on the past two stages having been only 41secs behind the Dutchman after Saturday’s ‘Queen Stage’ in the Dolomites mountains. Kruijswijk, meanwhile, keeps going from strength to strength. “I was feeling really good so I had to make the best of this short but really hard stage,” he added. “I had to follow Nibali when he attacked early in the stage. I didn’t expect so much action the day after the rest day.” A day after Nibali promised to bite into his deficit, ‘Lo Squalo’ (The Shark) will now look to recover on stages 17 and 18 before the race for the pink jersey resumes in earnest with two big days Spain’s Alejandro Valverde (C) of team Movistar rides ahead pink jersey Steven Kruijswijk of team Lotto NL compete in the mountains on Friday and Saturduring the 16th stage of the 99th Giro d’Italia, Tour of Italy, from Bressanone / Brixen to Andalo. day.—AFP
Stokes has surgery as Topley ruled out for three months
Hyderi Baloch Club qualifies for Quarters
Want Japanese players here for tournament: Pirzada
K ARACHI —Hyderi Baloch ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Inter ProPirzada said Pakistan wants to invite Japanese players for tournament between PaClub qualified for Quarter-fimiss the remainder of Sri Lanka’s tour, but the vincial Coordination (IPC) Mian Riaz Husain L ONDON —England all-rounder Ben Stokes had World Twenty20 that was I SLAMABAD —The Blind
scheduled to be held in India from November 28 has been postponed for two months due to administrative reasons. Talking to APP, Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) Chairman Syed Sultan Shah said “According to the new schedule the World T20 would now be played at the end of January next year,” he said. Sultan, who is also the president of the World Blind Cricket (WBC), said that after the tragic death of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) President S P Nagesh in April, their India counterpart had to make some changes, therefore it led to the postponement of the World T20. “Now CABI is led by Mahantesh G.K and John David is named as the secretary,” he said. He said CABI has informed about the changes to the WBC and it had been grated permission to do so.—APP
Junior Taekwondo Championship in September
knee surgery on Tuesday, while fellow interna-
tional Reece Topley learnt he will be sidelined for three months with a partial stress fracture. Stokes suffered a cartilage tear in his left knee during England’s crushing Test victory against Sri Lanka last week at Headingley. He had already tweeted that he expects to
England and Wales Cricket Board have not offered any prognosis following his operation. Stokes is unlikely to be seen again until the start of the Pakistan series in July, though England are not yet committing to a timescale. In Stokes’ absence, Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes, who took nine wickets on Monday to celebrate his call-up for the second Test against Sri Lanka, and the uncapped Jake Ball will have the chance to impress. “Ben Stokes has undergone surgery this afternoon to address a cartilage tear in his left knee. Full details on the length of his rehabilitation will be confirmed in due course,” an ECB statement read. Topley’s situation is clearer, with “a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine” likely to keep him sidelined for most of the season. Hampshire seamer Topley, who was in England’s World Twenty20 squad, has been out since April 16 with a fractured thumb but now has much bigger problems to contend with. “Reece Topley has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine and will require a significant period of rehabilitation,” the statement added. “He will miss the next three months and will aim for a return for Hampshire before the end of the season.” There was better news for David Willey, who has a small abdominal tear and is aiming to make his return to action in Yorkshire’s Twenty20 Blast match at Worcestershire on June 2.—AFP
Alamzaib helps KCG win against Orangi Star
Pakistan Teams qualify for Quarters in ACBS Snooker
KARACHI —An excellent and unbeatable performance by KARACHI—Pakistan Teams Alamziab made a way for his team Karachi City Gymkhana qualified for Quarter-finals in
ISLAMABAD —The National (KCG) to win the match against the hostile opponents Organi the ACBS Team Event Snooker Junior Taekwondo Championship will be staged here at the Pakistan Sports Complex in September. The National Junior Taekwondo Championship is being organized by the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF). According to PTF President, Waseem Ahmed 40 to 50 children will be called in from schools and clubs to participate in the championship. “Competitions of Under-15 and under-17 will be held in the championship,” he said.—APP
Star Cricket Club by 8 wickets in KCCA Zone-VI Daud Khan Memorial Cricket Tournament. The match was held at Sakhi Hassan Gymkhana Ground. Orangi Star Club batting first scored 157 runs all out in 28.2 overs. Burhan Khan scored 42 runs and Muhammad Shamim 24 runs where Abdul Wahab took three wickets and Arbab Shaikh, Abid Khan and Nasir Khan took two wickets each. City Gymkhana, in reply, easily achieved the target with the loss of 2 wickets in 17 overs. The unbeatable 97 runs by Alamziab paved the way for his team to win the match. Other major contributor was Zeshan Iqbal who made 30 runs. Muhammad Ammir and Shoib Badar took one wicket each. City Gymkhana would play next match against Late Ismail Jaffar Cricket Club on May 26 at Sakhi Hassan Gymkhana Ground.—APP
Championship 2016 which commenced in Abu Dhabi on May 23. According to the information made available by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), both teams Pakistan-1, comprising Mohammad Asif and Asjad Iqbal and Pakistan-2, composed of Mohammad Bilal and Babar Masih, qualified for the Quarter-finals. Knock-out draw would be after last round matches and last session would start at 8:00 pm on May 24.—APP
nals in Alfalah District South Football Championship. In the match played at Kickri Ground Liyari, Hyderi Baloch Club defeated Muhammadan Club by 1-0 and moved to quarter-finals. In first half of the match, no team could make any goal but in second half, a deciding goal by Somar could help the team of Hyderi Baloch Club to win. In the second match, The Liyari Labour Centre defeated its hostile Taj Muslim by 5-0. The excellent performance by Rehman, who made 2 goals, helped the team to win the match. While, Husnain, Pervaiz and Liaquat made one goal each. In the 3rd match, Moosa Lashari Memorial Club outwitted Son of Baloch Club.—APP
Pirzada on Tuesday said Pakistan want to invite Japanese players for tournament here and revealed to also start a youth exchange programme with Japan. The Minister said this when the newly appointed Ambassador of Japan Takashi Kurai called him at his office on Tuesday, said a press release issued here. The Minister welcomed the Japanese Ambassador and said that Pakistan highly valued its relations with them and also want to enhance relations between the two countries. “Japan attains high standards in Sports and Pakistan wants to benefit from its technical assistance in various fields of sports,” he said.
kistan and Japan. “Pakistan also wants to start youth exchange program with Japan,” he said. He said that Pakistan also desires to send its coaches to Japan for short training courses in Volleyball, Judo and baseball. Speaking on the occasion, the Japanese Ambassador said that both Pakistan and Japan are enjoying good relations and we want to boost governments and people to people relations between the two countries. He said that Japan will fully support Pakistan in the field of sports. The Japanese Ambassador also lauded the growth of Pakistani economy in recent years.—APP
Cricket match on May 27 to mark Youm-e-Takbeer KARACHI—A cricket match is being organized on May 27 to mark Youm-e-Takbeer at District Central Eidgah Cricket Ground. The match is being organized in collaboration with National Peace Council Sindh and 61 Wing of Abdullah Shah Gazi Rangers Sindh. The match will be played between teams of Peace Welfare Organization and Rights Way Riders. The chief guest of the event will be Commander of Abdullah Shah Gazi Rangers Sindh. The President of Peace Welfare Organization, Aurangzeb Sultan said that the aim of organizing the match was to mark the Youm-eTakbeer and to create awareness about its importance among the youth of Pakistan. Besides, we can promote LAHORE: Secretary PHF Shahbaz Senior awarding winning trophy to players of Pakistan healthy environment for our Railways Women Hockey team during Rukhsana Arshad Women Hockey series-2016. society through sports and also convey the message of peace, love and national solidarity, he added.—APP
Pakistan’s participation in Asian Netball in jeopardy I SLAMABAD —A decision whether to participate in the Asian Women Netball Championship will be decided on Wednesday with partcipation depending on finding a sponsor. Talking to APP, Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF), President, Mudassir Arain said the federation will take a decision on the matter on Wednesday. The Asian Netball Championship is scheduled to be held from July 29 to August 6 in Thailand. He said the countries scheduled to participate in the championship include Pakistan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Thailand, Brunei, Korea and Chinese Taipei. “PNF is in talks with two banks to sponsor the team for the event and if they agree the team Ivana Fuso of Germany challenges Adela Machutkova of Czech Republic during the International Friendly match be- will be participating in the chamtween U15 Girls Germany and U15 Girls Czech Republic at Auenstadion in Floeha, Germany. pionship,” he said.—APP
Russia says 14 athletes in 2008 Olympics positive in new drug tests
M OSCOW —Russia’s Olympic Committee (ROC) said Tuesday that 14 of its athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics had been found positive for doping in new tests of their samples given during the Games. “14 Russian athletes in three disciplines gave a positive result,” the ROC said in a statement, a week after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that 31 athletes from 12 countries had failed doping tests after new analysis of samples taken from the Beijing Games. ROC said that the names of the athletes, according to the disciplinary rules, would not be made public until a second set of control samples had also been tested. Russia’s Match TV channel reported the names of the athletes as including 10 Olympic medallists. One, Yulia Chermoshanskaya, won gold as part of the 4x100 metre relay team, while four won silver. Among those listed was bronze medallist high jumper Anna Chicherova, who is likely to compete in this summer Rio Olympics if Russia takes part. Chicherova did not answer a request for comment from AFP. Sports minister Vitaly Mutko told R-Sport news agency that the names of the athletes should not have been released because a second control sample still needs to be tested. “It’s a sensitive topic, why someone does this, I don’t know,” he said, while not denying the list was correct.
“It’s wrong to name names if a person could be found not guilty,” he said. The Russian athletics federation said in a statement on Tuesday that it would bar any athlete found to have used doping in previous years from competing at Rio. “Any potential participant in the Olympic games caught using doping in previous years cannot be a member of Russia’s national team at Rio,” the federation said. It said it had submitted this amendment to its selection criteria on May 20 “so that clean athletes can take part in the 2016 Olympic Games.” The ROC statement came as Russia is reeling from damning accusations by the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov. He told the New York Times of a systematic state-organised scheme to get round anti-doping rules, including at least 15 medallists at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and involving the sports ministry and the FSB security service. The Russian athletics doping scandal was brought to light by whistleblowers, including runner Yulia Stepanova and her husband Vitaly Stepanov, a former employee of Russian antidoping agency RUSADA, who prompted WADA to investigate their shocking allegations about the prevalence of doping in Russian athletics. The world athletics governing body IAAF next month is set to rule whether to lift Russia’s provisional suspension from Rio over evidence of state-sponsoring doping in Russian athletics.—AFP