Category: Sports

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Karachi is set to host another high-profile international sporting event with the Karachi Open Squash Championship taking place from 15 – 19 March, 2022.

The main draws for the 2022 Karachi Open Squash Championship see former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad and France’s Enora Villard heading the men’s and women’s draws, respectively.

The male event is a PSA World Tour Bronze tournament, while the female competition is a PSA Challenger Tour 20 tournament.

Former World Champion Gawad leads the men’s draw and will be looking to claim his first title since 2019. The Egyptian will face the winner of home favourite Asim Khan and England’s Declan James in his first match of the tournament as he receives a bye in round one.

World No.16 Youssef Soliman from Egypt is the number two seed. Soliman, a recent quarter finalist at the Houston Open, will open his account against the winner of Spain’s Bernat Jaume and event wildcard Muhammad Ashab Irfan from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s best chance of a home winner comes in the form of World No.44 Tayyab Aslam. The nation’s No.1 will face up and coming Egyptian Yahya Elnawasany in his first-round match. The pair last met at the Egyptian Open in September, with the Egyptian winning 3-1 in 38 minutes to level the head-to-head record at 1-1.

France’s Enora Villard is number one seed for the female event. The French No.4 recently lost out to Georgina Kennedy from England in the last 16 of the Cleveland Classic and will be looking to improve on that performance in Karachi. Villard will play either Pakistan’s Zaynab Khan or New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts in her opening match of the event.

England’s Lucy Beecroft is one to watch in the event. The World No.62 won two events in 2021 and will be determined to add to that tally in 2022. Beecroft receives a bye in round one but will face either wildcard Anam Mustafa Aziz or Serbia’s Jelena Dutina in round two.

No.3 seed Marie Stephan is entering the Challenger 20 event full of confidence as the 25-year-old recently captured her first French Nationals title, beating Enora Villard in the final. Stephan will play Pakistan’s Amna Fayyaz or Malaysia’s Yee Xin Ying for a place in the quarter finals.

Pakistan Rangers Sindh will collaborate with the event organisers for providing fool proof security arrangements to all participants.

 Chairman Sindh Squash Association and Emeritus President of World Squash Federation Jahangir Khan Said “The Sindh Squash Association is delighted to host the Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022. We are excited to collaborate with the ARY group who have always been huge supporters of sports in the country.

“We are all very excited to showcase Pakistan’s hospitality to a number of talented international squash players and I look forward to welcoming them in Karachi this March.”

Chairman AKD Group Aqeel Karim Dhedhi Said
“The business community of Karachi is proud to support Pakistan’s resurgence in sports. The Karachi Open Squash Championship, and other events in the pipeline under the ACE Games umbrella, will have our full support as we aim to promote Pakistan as a sports destination and build Pakistan’s own sporting heroes.”

ARY Digital Founder and CEO Salman Iqbal Said “I am delighted that we are partnering with the Sindh Squash Association and the business community of Pakistan to bring this star-studded squash event to Pakistan.

Pakistan has hosted a number of international cricket events in the last few years and the Karachi Open Squash Championship will be a great addition to the country’s sports industry. I am confident that with world-class TV coverage on A Sports, Pakistan’s first HD sports channel, and a memorable event, we will be able to further raise the profile of Pakistan as a sports destination. 

“Our vision with ACE Games is to promote sports in Pakistan and provide avenues for our youth to train themselves so that they can bring laurels for Pakistan and I hope that all stakeholders will continue to support us in our efforts.”

Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Men’s Draw

[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) [Bye]

Asim Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Declan James (ENG)

[9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Henry Leung (HKG)

[6] Todd Harrity (USA) [Bye]

[7] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) [Bye]

Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v [9/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP)

[9/16] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [WC] Noor Zaman (PAK)

[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) [Bye]

[4] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) [Bye]

Faraz Khan (USA) v [9/16] Alan Clyne (SCO)

[9/16] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Mazen Gamal (EGY)

[8] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) [Bye]

[5] Shahjahan Khan (USA) [Bye]

Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) v [9/16] Tayyab Aslam (PAK)

[9/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP) v [WC] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK)

[2] Youssef Soliman (EGY) [Bye]

 

Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Women’s Draw

[1] Enora Villard [Bye]

Zaynab Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)

[9/16] NadeenKotb (EGY) v Sofía Mateos (ESP)

[5] Nadia Pfister (SUI) [Bye]

[6] Georgia Adderley (SCO) [Bye]

Lea Barbeau (FRA) v [9/16] Chan Yiwen (MAS)

[9/16] Amna Fayyaz (PAK) v Yee Xin Ying (MAS)

[3] Marie Stephan (FRA) [Bye]

[4] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) [Bye]

Sarah Cardwell (AUS) v [9/16] Anna Kimberley (ENG)

[9/16] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v Rana Ismail (EGY)

[7] Menna Hamed (EGY) [Bye]

[8] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) [Bye]

[WC] Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) v [9/16] Jelena Dutina (SRB)

[9/16] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v [WC] Mariam Malik (PAK)

[2] Menna Nasser (EGY) [Bye]

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Free Fire Pakistan inaugurates Pakistan’s first-ever National Inter-University Esports tournament, the Free Fire Campus Championship. Free Fire Pakistan introduces its Campus Championship, Pakistan’s first inter-university Esports competition to be held on a National Stage. Free Fire remains committed to developing the Esports landscape in Pakistan and uplift the youth by providing competitive Esports platforms to enable their talent.

Last year, Free Fire had announced Pakistan’s first-ever Esports Scholarship, under their Campus Challenge across 9 different universities in Pakistan. Free Fire Campus Championship 2022 will take place across 5 major cities of Pakistan, namely, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Bahawalpur & Peshawar in 12 different universities.

The winning team from each University will progress to the Grand Final Event held on 19th March where the contestants will compete for a Scholarship prize pool worth PKR 2,200,000. Registration desks are now live across universities as students prepare to participate in a one day qualifier tournament played in Battle Royale mode, in a knock-out format to be crowned as their University’s champions.

The winning teams will then go on to represent their University on the National Stage where they will each be competing for a scholarship worth PKR 400,000. Commenting on the occasion, Zafeer Khan, Esport & Community Manager said, “I’m glad to see FFCC garner such a great response at these Universities. These grass root efforts provide us extreme motivation when we’re able to see the passion students have for Esports in Pakistan first hand.

We saw this during the overwhelming response from our Campus Challenge and how much these Scholarship opportunities really meant to these Students” Free Fire is also behind FFPL, Pakistan’s First Professional Esports League, FFPL III is currently in it’s group stages, where the final 18 teams compete for a grand prize pool of PKR 10,000,000 & the chance to represent Pakistan in FFWS, the largest Free Fire tournament in the world, held later this year in Singapore with a grand prize pool worth $2 Million.

Lahore (NUT DESK)

With the ongoing PSL 7 festivities, TECNO took out an amazing Predict & Win activity for the fans to win free tickets for each match. A total of 50 fans got the chance to watch the matches in both Karachi and Lahore stadiums, enjoying the spirit of cricket with full zeal.

TECNO received a great response from fans with the announcement of this activity back in January and all posts on the official Facebook were bombarded with hundreds of comments. The activity included 11 matches of PSL, five in Karachi, and six in Lahore including semi-finals and final. Four winners for FREE tickets were chosen for each match, while for the semi-final and final matches six tickets were given out. The winners were chosen through a lucky draw and were announced on Facebook Stories of TECNO.

After six successful seasons, TECNO just made PSL 7 more interesting for its fans. Cricket enthusiasts were seen commenting zealously over Facebook to participate in this fun activity. Also, the fans predicting the winning team for the final match were to receive a brand new TECNO phone as a winner’s gift. Two lucky fans, Madiha Ryaz and Aqib Waheed won this grand prize and were announced on the official page.

Moreover, many content creators were seen covering the matches in Lahore using TECNO’s latest Camon 18 Premier with its extraordinary camera features. YouTubers including Ukhano, Ali Zar, and Shahveer made fun vlogs and were seen capturing these treasured moments from the matches with the Camon phone. The 60x Hyper zoom and the Gimbal were much appreciated by these renowned content creators.

Kelvin Zeng, CEO of TECNO Mobile Pakistan, said,

“We love the passion Pakistanis have for sports. This passion led us to engage them in some fun activities to make the cricket celebrations more interesting. The users in Pakistan have appreciated our efforts in bringing the latest technologies for them so we try and keep our fans happy with such campaigns.”

With such fun activities, TECNO has made its name among the consumers for supporting and promoting sports in such a manner. As the brand aims to bring the best for its users, stay tuned for more such amazing campaigns from TECNO Pakistan.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  PSL 7 2022 came to a fiery conclusion with Lahore Qalandars taking the top prize. The nation followed the sport with zeal and fervor. Social media enabled cricket fans around Pakistan to become an interactive part of the game. Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and Likee all introduced numerous campaigns like filters as well as hashtags to bring a creative light to Pakistan’s premier national cricket tournament. These initiatives added to the grandeur of this festival.

Likee, the country’s leading short video sharing platform, also embraced the celebration through enabling creators to express their love and support for the game of cricket in a variety of ways. The application launched a hashtag challenge to allow people to become part of the PSL fever that is gripping the nation. The trend received extensive participation from creators across the country who shared diverse videos that included kids playing cricket, rap and dance posts to name a few.

On top of that, Likee also launched an interactive game that allows creators to participate virtually and relive their love for the game in an interesting manner. For the younger generation that specifically shows its support towards PSL, cheering and roaring for their teams in the stadium as well as on social media, this game is an ideal opportunity to build the hype.

Numerous creators from the platform showcased their love for the game of cricket through these initiatives. Cricket Lover, a creator with nearly 300,000 fans on Likee shares all and everything about the game on this page. He is avid watcher of the game and never misses a single match especially when the Pakistani team is playing. His love for the Afridi clan including Shahid and ShaheenAfridi is exceptionally profound. He left no confusion about this as he expressed how Likee has provided him with a chance to let the world know of his passion, fascination and zeal for the game and the ‘Men in Green.’

Another creator, Cricket Lovers, who also participated actively in the challenge expressed his views in the following words: “As a nation and as a person, there is no downplaying the fact that cricket runs in our veins. Whenever our team plays, we are up for supporting them. I watch cricket especially PSL on a regular basis and have not missed a match ever. This year, through Likee, I had the distinct platform to express my feelings to a greater audience. I met numerous like-minded people not just on the application but outside as well who appreciated and supported my content and this was amazing to witness.”

Umair, a significant creator on Likee with more than 2 million fans and posting humorous videos on his page was another person that appreciated Likee and its initiatives. “Although I post a lot about other things, when it comes to cricket and PSL, I am a die-hard fanatic. I miss matches due to various commitments, but I make sure to let my love for the game and our players known to the world,” he said. Umair, whose Likee handle is Oye Umair, was much praise for Likee and the opportunity it is providing to the youth of Pakistan and the nation in general.

With cricket being a crucial point of passion for the nation, shortvideosharingplatforms gave people a grand stage to shine through social media.

Lahore (Nut Desk)

Quetta Gladiators’ all-rounder Shahid Afridi has announced that he will not be participating further in HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) season seven. The 41-year-old, on his YouTube channel, said that his body is in serious pain. Former Pakistan captain thanked his well-wishers, who supported him in yesterday’s clash against Quetta Gladiators.

“I wanted to end PSL on a good note but I have been playing with the lower-back injury for 15-16 years now and the pain is quite intense where I feel it in my groin, knee and even the fingers of the foot,” Afridi said.

Afridi revealed that he will undergo rehab for a few months and will look to take part in Kashmir Premier League (KPL). “Health is everything and I can’t further endure the pain.”

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) BankIslami, the country’s leading and most advanced Islamic finance institution, has created an innovative opportunity for promotion of its brand message through a Platinum Sponsorship of the CAS Open Golf Tournament being held between 3rd till 7th February 2022 at the Airmen Golf Club Karachi. Through sponsorship of the event that is a signature feature of the annual golfing calendar, BankIslami positioned itself in a unique place as a facilitator of leading social events across the country.

Golf is amongst the most frequently played sports in Pakistan and the yearly CAS Open Golf Tournament attracts leading players and host of spectators that enjoy the game in all its glory. BankIslami being one of the country’s foremost financial institutions offering Sharia-compliant solutions to its customers and the masses in general, has stepped up its efforts to promote the sporting ecosystem in Pakistan. Through sponsorship of various leading events, the organization is facilitating the growth and development of various sports in the country.

Commenting on the development, President and CEO, BankIslami, Syed Amir Ali, stated; “By the grace of Almighty Allah, BankIslami is achieving significant milestones one after the other in terms of performance and facilitating its stakeholders including customers. We believe in giving back to the nation because our accomplishments are due to the trust that the nation places in us. We remain committed to promoting various mainstream events in diverse fields over the course of time.”

BankIslami is leveraging distinct opportunities for itself in the sporting arena as the organization recently became Platinum Sponsor of Karachi Kings franchise in PSL 7 as well.

Lahore (NUT DESK)

The seventh edition of Pakistan Super League finally began today with a bang. The Opening Ceremony of the tournament involved an act that could be one of the hottest openings in the history of PSL.

The three-minute act saw Three Austrian skydivers, namely Florian Greger, Paul Steiner and Stefan Muller taking flight in the military Mi-17 and diving back into the Faisal Base training ground from about 5000 feet in the air.

Up in the air, they absorb the beauty of the city of lights and finally upon landing, they hand over the ball to the umpire, which would kickstart the first match of the PSL, Karachi Kings Vs Multan Sultans.

Greger, Steiner and Muller are three aerial sports Red Bull athletes who are part of the HSV Red Bull Salzburg, one of the most successful parachuting clubs in Austria. Greger visited Pakistan a couple of years ago when he biked through most of Europe and Turkey and all the way to Iran; he passed through Pakistan, entering the country via Punjab Pass and exiting through China border. Gregor is a technical engineer and skydiver with 1500 jumps and Muller has 1400 jumpsunder his belt whereas Steiner has over 30 years of experience in parachuting and has amassed over 6100 jumps.

Red Bull is one of the foremost players in the world of aerial sports with over 20 extreme and aerial sport athletes under its patronage practicing in multiple areas such as skydiving,paragliding, wingsuit flying and speed flying.

After the live telecast of the aerial sports act in the PSL Opening Ceremony, Gregor said, “It was the first time we saw Karachi from above. It’s an amazing view that you can’t get from the ground. There are so many lights and it’s so big. When we were 5000 feet in the air, I then realized why it’s called the ‘City of Lights’.”

Muller also echoed the sentiment, saying, “The view from the top is amazing. Thousands of millions of lights… it’s beautiful to see that as not many people get a chance to witness something like this.”

Red Bull holds a dominion in the global arena of aerial sports and intends to bring it all to Pakistan, familiarizing the audience with this extreme and exciting world. The skydiving act to kickstart PSL 2022 is a glimpse into what Red Bull plans to offer in the country in near future.

TECNO brings an engaging online Predict & Win activity for its fans this PSL season. The activity will be on for 11 matches of PSL which will let winners get FREE tickets for each match.

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional T20 Cricket League contested between six teams representing six major cities of Pakistan. PSL is one of the most popular events in the country and a great opportunity for corporate partners to make an impression. TECNO shall be hyping up this passion of its Pakistani consumers by a Predict & Win online on Facebook.

Four winners will be selected for each match where they will be given free tickets for the next match. Of the total 11 matches, five will be held in Karachi and six in Lahore including semi-finals and final. For all semi-final and final matches, six tickets will be given out for each match.

All fans need to do is, go to TECNO’s Official Facebook Page and comment their prediction on every post related to PSL that will be shared. Choosing the winner will simply be based on the right answer and a lucky draw will be held to choose winners. The winners will be announced on Facebook Stories and the TECNO team shall contact them for the delivery of tickets.

Kelvin Zeng, CEO of TECNO Mobile Pakistan, said,

“We love the passion Pakistani’s have for the sport of Cricket and PSL is a great initiative for the development of cricket globally. Hence, TECNO has been working to help its fans enjoy this passion to the fullest. With multiple cricket campaigns, funs sessions, and online activities, this PSL Predict & Win will be an encouraging step for the fans to be able to participate and go watch the match live from the stadium.”

Moreover, the fans predicting the final match will receive a new smartphone as a winner’s gift apart from all the goodies from TECNO. So don’t forget to follow TECNO’s Official Facebook page and keep predicting!

BrightoPaints Announces A unique Virtual Post Match Show For PSL 7 Featuring Mazhar Arshad & Meesha Imran

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) BrightoPaints Pakistan’s first multinational paint company, is launching an exciting Digital Show for its fans during the HBL Pakistan Super League (HBL PSL) 2022. The show is titled as “Brighto Bari Game Ka Bara Scene” and it will be the maiden digital show of Brighto’s sports dedicated content property

Brighto Sports.

National Volleyball player turned broadcaster Meesha Imran will be hosting Pakistan’s favorite stats man Mazhar Arshad and a star studded guest lineup. Throughout the HBL PSL 7, the show will be live every match day 30 minutes after the match.

Brighto Paints is also giving a unique chance to its fans to become part of the show through the campaign “Brighto Digital Fan Of The Day”. Every show will have one digital Fan who will become part of the show through Brighto Sports digital activities. Each lucky fan will be announced on Brighto Sports Facebook (@Brightopaintssports), Twitter and Instagram accounts (@brighto_sports).

Talking about the digital show Mr. Ali Khan – Head of MarketingBrighto Paints said:

“We at Brighto paints strongly believe that HBL Pakistan Super League is a brand that we are all very proud of, be it fans, sponsors, crickets, or management. Therefore, I feel that this is our duty to take part in making this an international brand and take it as a duty. As a brand manager of Brighto it is my wish that fans come out to support the HBL PSL and those who cannot come to the stadium must show their support on social media and fans’ zones. As fans we should use this opportunity to build a positive image of Pakistan.”

Cricket fans are encouraged to keep following Brighto Sports for further exciting announcements and engaging digital content.

Brighto Sports Bari Game Ka Bara Scene will air every day through HBL PSL 7.

Follow Brighto Sports for amazing Updates on Sports & HBL PSL 7 – get a chance to win amazing Gift hampers & Signed memorabilia from your favorite stars every day .

ü  Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Brightopaintsports/

ü  Twitter : @Brighto_Sports

ü  Instagram : @Brighto_Sports

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its partnership with TikTok, the leading destination for short form videos, for two seasons of the HBL Pakistan Super League. TikTok will be the official Entertainment Partner for the seventh and eighth editions of one of the world’s most sought after and popular T20 leagues.

During the HBL PSL 7 that will be staged in Karachi and Lahore from January 27, TikTok users will get the opportunity to engage and generate content on the platform that now has more than one billion active users across the globe. The month-long (34-match) HBL PSL 7 festival of cricket will end at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore with the 27 February final.

The two-season long partnership between the PCB and TikTok will allow fans to celebrate the tournament’s unforgettable moments together on the platform using the hashtag #KhelegaPakistan. With everything from pre and post match content and highlights, to cricket-related challenges, TikTok will become a home for the spirit and passion of the HBL PSL fan base that has been an integral reason for the league’s success and growth over the course of the last six seasons. This partnership comes as TikTok aims to cement its position as the perfect platform for cricket fandom in Pakistan, with the last collaboration with the HBL PSL 6 racking up an incredible 1.6 billion+ views on the platform.

This is proof that Pakistan fans love cricket content on the platform, and create great content while also participating in fun-filled challenges. Chairman PCB Ramiz Raja: “We are delighted to have TikTok join hands with us as our Official Entertainment Partner for HBL Pakistan Super League 7 and 8. Platforms like TikTok have revolutionised content generation and have brought people together through some incredibly creative and entertaining short videos that are watched around the world.

“The HBL Pakistan Super League has historically provided rich entertainment with quality cricket and this year will be no different with TikTok providing another exciting platform for the fans. “We have made record-breaking gains in terms of our media, sponsorship and broadcast rights in recent days and this partnership is another important milestone for us ahead of the start of the HBL PSL 7. I am confident that both PCB and TikTok will have major gains to make over the course of the next two months and beyond once Pakistan is gripped by the HBL PSL 7 fever starting 27 January.”

Paul Katrib, Head of Brand Marketing, Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan at TikTok: “We are excited to become the official Entertainment Partner of the HBL PSL 7 and 8, the biggest sporting event in Pakistan. With this partnership, we aim to bring the spirit and passion of this great tournament to its fans on TikTok for the next two seasons.

“TikTok has become a vibrant hub of sports content in the last two years. It nurtures incredible, never-seen-before sporting content, while enabling creators to relive and remix some of the best moments in sports. Creating an online arena where fans play, we will be offering our Pakistani community new ways of creating and engaging with Pakistan’s most popular sporting event, with exciting in-app effects, as well as cool features and filters for the cricket community to enjoy. “Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan and we are happy to have partnered with cricket’s most celebrated event in the country. We look forward to TikTok fast becoming the home of fandom for not just cricket but other sports in Pakistan as well.”

With TikTok being a platform for all, this two-season collaboration will help the HBL PSL not only reach a young audience but also engage more authentically with a very interactive and diverse community that has backed the league from the onset, helping it become one of the most popular and sought after T20 leagues in the world. You can follow the HBL PSL on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@thepsl