Tuesday, 17 July 2018

Jalaluddin, Qadir Qureshi hail Toyota Highway Motors’ Go Green Mission

Prominent members of cricketing community have come out to make Karachi green and joined hands with Toyota Highway Motors in planting trees in a bid to check growing environmental pollution to some extent.

Noted cricketers like Pakistan's most successful outgoing captain Misbah-ul-Haq, spin magician of his time, Iqbal Qasim, former Test opener, Sadiq Mohammed, former Test all-rounder Ejaz Faqih, hockey Olympian and 1984 Los Angeles gold medalist, Hasan Sardar, and ex-Junior and a member of 1979 Junior World Cup winning team in France Jan Mohammed, are among the figures who have planted trees to go all out with the slogan one tree each to make Karachi green.

The latest in series of the prominent sportsmen was Jalaluddin, the man who who had the distinction of accomplishing the first hat-trick in One-Day International against Australia at Niaz Stadiim Hyderabad 32 years ago.

The former Test fast bowler and now a highly quailed coach was the guest of honour to plant a tree on May 13. Among other dignitaries to grace the occasion was the veteran journalist Abdul Qadir Qureshi, the Chief Editor of Jumbo Karachi Guide, who had been promoting Go Green cause through his reporting since he was a junior reporter.


Lack of greenery in this part of the country has been portrayed as a big problem as the governments
of today and yesterday showed least interest in developing greenery in the wake of all time high environmental pollution, more specially in Karachi, the world's seventh populous city which is the business hub of the country but far behind in greenery concept.

While other organizations have had limited success to meet national expectations in this regard, Toyota Highway Motors, just a few kilometers from Sohrab Goth (Zero Point) on Super Highway, has come out with the daunting task to share the mission to make Karachi Green and to slightly remove the stigma on this once city of lights.

Having set a target of planting 5,000 trees as initial count for their mission, the company’s CEO Shujaat Sherwani announced that they provide one plant free of cost to each of their car buyer.


As part of the mission they introduced a unique concept of inviting Pakistan's sports legends to promote the slogan of Green Karachi.

This slogan started with Pakistan's most successful test captain Misbah-ul-Huq who was visibly moved by the idea and highly appreciative of the same while planting a tree along Super Highway, followed by other legends.

With carrying out the mission of this Green Slogan, Shujaat Sherwani extended warm reception to the eminent visitors, also awarding them attractive shields besides paying them tributes for their services and bringing fame and name to Pakistan.

"It has always been my passion to honour sporting legends and be a humble promoter of Go Green and this has doubled my enthusiasm,” he observed in a brief speech on the occasion. Maintaing their tradition officials of the Toyota Highway Motors led by its CEO Shujaat Sherwani, General Manager Sales and Marketing, Shad Ali Khan, Ahsan Sherwani, Manager Sales, Irfan Zaidi, gave a standing ovation to both Jalaluddin and Abdul Qadir Qureshi.

Giving his reaction, Jalaluddin said initially he was reluctant to come for a visit here because of lack of information, but now he was highly impressed with the missionary zeal being exhibited by Shujaat and his team for a noble cause besides extending a true respect to country's legendary figures.


"Go Green is a great concept and our country badly needs to overcome the serious problem of
environmental changes which is risking the lives of millions of Karachiites. I am highly impressed to see lots of trees having been planted already,” he complimented.

He described it a great mission and said that the one-car-one-tree was certainly a unique and novel idea to promote the cause.

He said that he felt himself proud for planting a tree here and he will come again to see his plant having grown as a big tree consuming pollution to some extent.

Shujaat Shewani appreciated the services rendered by Abdul Qadir Qureshi in the domain of journalism through his positive reporting skills and regretted that presently positivity was on the way to extinction with negativity having taken strong roots.

The veteran journalist, in his speech, enlightened the gathering by sharing his experiences, particularly those related to coverage of various Presidents and Prime Ministers during their visits abroad.

On the occasion, Shujaat Sherwani presented a Max Dirt Track official shirt to Jalaluddin which is designed to promote newly developed world class track in Hub on Sindh-Balochistan borders. He recalled that Captain of 2009 World T20 winning team Younis Khan also attended the Max Dirt Rally and took a round of track and complimented the organizers for promoting this popular sport.


National Baseball Championship 2018 dedicated to Khawar Shah

The 23rd Khawar Shah National Baseball Championship 2018 is being organized by the Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB) at Bahria Town, Lahore, from March 5 to 10.


Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, President, PFB, shared with the media that it’s the first national baseball championship to be held after the death of Syed Khawar Shah, a former President of the federation.

“Khawar Shah was a towering and dedicated personality of sports in Pakistan who rendered meritorious services while in government service and also as an office bearer of various sports bodies. His final assignment was as the President of Pakistan Federation Baseball where he was responsible for lift the game to high standards in the last few years,” Fakhar Shah remarked.

“In recognition of his unforgettable services to the game, the federation has renamed the national baseball championship as 23rd Khawar Shah National Baseball Championship being held at Aashiq Hussain Baseball Stadium in Lahore’s Bahria Town,” he disclosed.

Teams from Baluchistan, KPK, Sindh, Punjab, FATA, Islamabad, Pakistan WAPDA, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Police and HEC are participating in the Championship.

Meanwhile the manager’s meeting was chaired by Fakhar Shah prior to the start of the six-day event which was also attended by Muhammad Mohsin Khan, Senior Vice President PFB and Chairman, Organizing Committee, Jamil Kamran, Chairman, Technical Committee and Zafar Hussain Warraich, Organizing Secretary.


National Baseball Championship 2018 underway in Lahore

The 23rd Khawar Shah National Baseball Championship 2018 has got underway at Bahria Town,
Lahore, being staged under the auspices of the Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB).

A couple of more matches were held on the second day of the six-day event. Idris Haider Khawaja, Secretary General, Punjab Olympic Association, was the chief guest on the second day of championship.

According to the details made available by Shah Mazhar Ahmad, Secretary General, PFB, the chief guest upon his arrival was greeted by Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, President, PFB, before being introduced to the players.


The first match was played between FATA and KPK. It turned out to be a close encounter in which KPK edged out their opponents 9-8.

Mansoor, Hameed and Faisal scored a couple of runs each while Waseem, Abid and Asim contributed a run apiece for the winning side.

Irfan and Gohar kept FATA in the hunt by scoring two run each while Waheed, Nasim, Hazaratullah and Attaullah scored a run each. In the second match of the day, Punjab proved too good for KPK whipping them by a staggering margin of 12-0.


Ali Raza and Afraz played brilliantly for Punjab as they scored three runs each, Nasir score a couple
runs while Asif, Zeeshan, Zeeshan Rasheed and Bilal contributed a run each. Ali Raza also hit a home run.

On the third day of the competition, Pakistan Army was due to take on Pakistan Police while WAPDA will be up against Punjab in the second game to be held later in the afternoon.

The national championship has been dedicated to the late Syed Khawar Shah, a former President of the federation in recognition of his unforgettable services to the game.

Teams from Balochistan, KPK, Sindh, Punjab, FATA, Islamabad, Pakistan WAPDA, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Police and HEC are participating in the championship.



Army, WAPDA enter final of National Baseball Championship 2018

Pakistan Army and Pakistan WAPDA have qualified for the final of the 23rd Khawar Shah National Baseball Championship 2018, being held at Bahria Town, Lahore, under the auspices of the Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB).

The gold medal match will be taking place on March 10. Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Syed Arif Hassan, President, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), will be the chief guest in the final and distribute medals among winners in the presentation ceremony.


The six-day event has been dedicated to the late Syed Khawar Shah, a former President of the
federation in recognition of his monumental services to the game of baseball.

Meanwhile Pakistan Police secured bronze medal by defeating Punjab 10-0 in the playoff for third position.

Atif, Yasir, Saleem Haider and Muzammil scored two runs each and Abdullah and Arfan contributed one run each for the winning side.


The Man of the Match award was clinched by Tariq Nadeem of Pakistan Police as he had pitched very well and did not allow the Punjab players to score any run against him.

Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, President, PFB, and Director, Bahria Sports, was the chief guest on the fourth Day of the championship. Muhammad Mohsin Khan, Senior Vice President, PFB, welcomed the chief guest who was introduced to the players.


Earlier, a couple of matches were held on the third day. In the first game Pakistan Army trounced
Pakistan Police 21-0.

Faqir Hussain scored four runs while Arsalan Jamshaid, Ubaidullah and Muhammad Rafi scored three runs each, Hidayatullah, Saqib Khan and Mazhar scored two runs each and Nazir and Waseem contributed one run each.

Pakistan WAPDA overcame Punjab 16-2 in the other match. For WAPDA Umair Bhatti score 4 runs, Zaheer topscored for WAPDA with three runs, Muhammad Waseem, Fazal-ur-Rehman and Zubair Nawaz scored two runs each and Sumair Zawar, Burhan Johar, Adnan Butt and Zakir Afridi contributed one run each. For Punjab, Usman and Usama score one run each. For WAPDA Umair Imdad Bhatti also hit a home run.


Army edge out WAPDA to win National Baseball Championship 2018

Pakistan Army edged out Pakistan WAPDA 8-6 in the final of the 23rd Khawar Shah National Baseball Championship 2018, held at Bahria Town, Lahore, under the auspices of the Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB), on March 10.

Pakistan Army, Pakistan WAPDA and Pakistan clinched gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the six-day event dedicated to the late Syed Khawar Shah, a former President of the federation in recognition of his monumental services to the game of baseball.

The gold medal match consisted of nine innings. Saqib and Majeed scored two runs each for Army while Arsalan Jamshaid, Ubaidullah, Faqir Hussain and Nazir Ahmed contributed a run each. Arsalan Jamshaid, Faqir Hussain and Nazir Ahmed hit home runs for their team.

For WAPDA Fazal ur Rehman and Zakir Afridi scored a couple of runs each, Burhan Johar and Zubair Nawaz contributed one run each while Zakir Afridi hit two home runs for his team.

Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Syed Arif Hassan, President, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), was the chief guest in the final. He distributed medals among winners in the presentation ceremony.

Shaukat Javed Chairman, PFB, Muhammad Khalid Mahmood, Secretary General, POA, Brig. Ghulam Jilani, Director, Army Sports, and Muhammad Jamil Ahmad Rana, Secretary General, Pakistan Tug of War Federation, were also present on the occasion.

Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, President, PFB, and Executive Director, Bahria Town Lahore, welcomed the chief guest and other dignitaries. Brig. Ghulam Jilani awarded bronze medals to the Pakistan Police Team, Shaukat Javed presented silver medals to Pakistan WAPDA team and Lt Gen Syed Arif Hassan gave away gold medals and the championship trophy to Pakistan Army baseball team.

Muhammad Usman, pitcher of Pakistan WAPDA, was adjudged Man of the Tournament award, named after Khawar Shah, and he received it from the chief guest.

Talking to the media, Lt. Gen Arif Hassan, President, POA, appreciated the performance of both teams and desired that the Pakistan baseball team earned laurels for Pakistan from abroad.

He reckoned that there was a marked improvement in the development of baseball in Pakistan under the supervision of new leadership.

Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, President, PFB, informed that they will hold national training camp of the Pakistan baseball team at the Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad, to prepare for participation in Asian Games 2018 to be staged in Indonesia.