Blog Style - Asian Sunday & Style

Selby Comes Out On Top In china

Sports

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April 10, 2015

Mark Selby and Gary Wilson pose for photographers before their China Open final match.

Defending world snooker champion Mark Selby defeated 29 year old Mark Wilson in The China Open final.

Selby who has suffered a few early exits in tournaments of late such as the Masters and the UK championship, beat his fellow Englishmen 10-2 in the final. Wilson who is indeed a text driver picked up a very respectable cheque of £35,000 – so the 29 year old can be very happy with his week’s work in China.

Home favourite Ding JungHui who won the title last year, was not doubt looking to reign supreme in front of his own fans. As has been the case with other tournaments across the globe, there has been a story of a player who has surprised the odds and gone far – in this tournament it was Gary Wilson of course, who actually defeated home favourite and the defending champion in a final frame thriller.

Winner of last months Indian Open Michael White was no doubt looking to make a mark in Asia again – but sadly the Englishmen’s challenge ended in the third round by Robert Milkins.

The China open which like the Indian Open will be looking to use this tournament as a springboard to promote the sport, saw entrants of the highest calibre such as Judd Trump and John Higgins – but the semi final appearance of Norwegian Kurt Maflin was surely one of the highlights of the event.

In a tournament that did produce some surprises, maybe it was a bit disappointing for the final itself to be so one sided – but I don’t think Mark Selby will worry about that to much as he gets his Crucible defence underway at the end of the April.

Tykes Looking To To Retain Their Crown

News
Sports

Ayyaz Malik

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April 5, 2015

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Jonny Bairstow was just one of the players who helped Yorkshire win the county championship last year.

British summer time is upon us. Longer days, sunshine, not as many leaves falling off the trees – but if you’re like me and many other cricket fanatics, summer time means cricket time!

After we were treated to a generous helping of six weeks of brilliant cricket at the cricket world cup, more cricket will be served up on the sporting menu. Cricket’s County Championship which will include nine teams in two divisions, is going to commence on 12th April.

The County championship was won last year by our very own Yorkshire who asserted their dominance in the domestic game with their 31st title. The team at Asian Sunday take a look at Yorkshire’s chances this year and to see if they have the chances of retaining their crown. Last years title run in was brilliant as three teams were in with a shout of winning cricket’s top domestic prize.

Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and of course Yorkshire – were the three teams involved in an epic three horse race, which was a great advert for English cricket. How times have changed.

Cricket in England although maybe isn’t quite at all time low, is pretty close to it after sadly yet another disappointing showing on the world stage. James Taylor, Adam Lyth and Sam Hain are three players who played in the top three sides and did well for their teams, guess what? They are all English! Here’s to hoping that these three have good seasons to help England blood the next generation of youngsters.

Taylor though having said that, has now become a regular in England’s one day squad – long may that continue. Yorkshire who pipped Notts to the title will face a Leeds/Bradford XI on 7th April before they start their defence on April 12th against Worcestershire and then face Nottinghamshire, the team they beat on the final day of last season . What a game that promises to be!

The Tykes as they’re also known, came into this season knowing they will be the team that teams want to beat most. A side that was young and filled with the hunger, captain Andrew Gayle had a brilliant crop of youngsters such as Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Adam Lythe at his disposal. All three of these players were brilliant through out the season – i add Adil Rashid and Tim Bresnan to that impressive trio and these two were key in complimenting Yorkshire’s impressive batting line up. Mind you Rashid and Bresnan are no mugs with the cricket bat.

Last seasons success in part was down to inspirational coach Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire will be hoping he works his magic this year also.

Although rules and regulations do allow overseas players to sign for clubs, we feel it was Yorkshire’s homegrown players that were key to their 31st championship win. This season might be harder, due to the reasons we already mentioned – but the signings of Cheteshwar Pujara (who replaced Younus Khan last minute) until Aaron Finch arrives after end IPL and Kane Williamson for the last three games of the season, could prove a master stroke.

In the shorter form of the games the signing of Glen Maxwell for T20 will no doubt please the fans. Azeem Rafiq getting released is a blow for Rafiq as he is destined for great things – but the Yorkshire youngster’s injury record didn’t help unfortunately, not to forget to mention the retirement of 19 year old Barney Gibson who wants to pursue other career opportunities.

Just like in football , to bring people in you have to people out if you will – but the quality of the signings that Yorkshire have made in the close season means that they won’t be giving away their title away that easily.
They had to wait some 12 years for this one – and I don’t think they will be in the mood to give it back just yet.

Redfearn To Leave Leeds?

Sports

Ayyaz Malik

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April 3, 2015

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Neil Redfearn is set to be considering his position. — Neil Redfearn is considering his position as Leeds manager

It all started ever since his trusted assistant Steve Thompson was suspended, those turn of events have now left Leeds manager Neil Redfearn to be considering his position at Leeds.

The 49 year old former Bradford City midfielder had previously been in caretaker charge – and managed to over see an upturn in fortunes on the pitch. Despite the encouraging results, Redfern lost out on becoming permanent manager to Darko Milanic earlier in the season.

Milanic who was in charge of Sturm Graz before he took the job at Elland Road barely lasted six games as impatient owner Massimo Cellino, got impatient with the ex Sturm Graz boss. Ironcially Neil Redfern ended up replacing the man who replace him.

The Whites who have been in turmoil on and off the pitch, have found some form of stability since the ex Bradford player has been in charge at Elland Road. After hovering just over the Championship drop zone, Leeds are now in a respectable 13th position.

Redfearn who has won 10 out of the 26 games in charge has said that Thompson’s suspension could be ‘destabilising’ – and for a team like Leeds who have been in turmoil on and off the pitch most of the season, the last thing they would want is instability.

Amir Khan Set To Face Algieri Next

Ayyaz Malik

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April 3, 2015

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Britain’s Amir Khan is scheduled to fight former Welterweight American Chris Algieri in a fight expected to be in New York.

Much to the disappointment of British fighter Kell Brook, Amir Khan announced through his wife’s youtube channel that he is to fight American Chris Algieri next. The 31 year old Algieri has been a former welterweight champion. In fact the American has only lost once in 21 outings with his sole loss coming against the legendary Manny Pacqiuao.

Khan’s fight with Algieri is expected to be in New York in the 147lbs Welterweight division on May 30th. Although Amir Khan’s camp had stated they were in negotiations for a fight with another opponent, the Bolton fighter’s decision to fight another fighter first has left Brook feeling ‘disrespected’.

Twenty eight year old Khan however has vowed to fight Brook an undefeated IBF chmpion at Wembley ‘within the next 12 months. Bolton fighter has also said that he does want to face the winner of the colossal tussle against Manny Pacqiuao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr. A match of such magnitude could be difficult to arrange, especially since Mayweather and Pacqiuao took what seems like the length of their careers to arrange – but one thing is for certain these next 12 months for Khan could be the most defining of his career.

SATVINDER DAHRI APPOINTED FIRST MULTI CULTURAL WEDDING PLANNER AT CEDAR COURT HOTEL LEEDS/BRADFORD

Aalia Khan

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March 31, 2015

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SATVINDER DAHRI APPOINTED FIRST MULTI CULTURAL WEDDING PLANNER AT CEDAR COURT HOTEL LEEDS/BRADFORD

Satvinder Dahri has been appointed Wedding Co-ordinator at the four star Cedar Court Hotel Leeds Bradford with special responsibility for multi-cultural weddings. With a BA Hons in Business Management she started on her events management and hospitality career with Hilton Group, before joining Cedar Court in 2006. Satvinder went on to work at De Vere Oulton Hall and the Met in Leeds returning to the Cedar Court to be its first Multi Cultural Wedding Co-ordinator.

Speaking fluent Punjabi as well as Urdu and Hindi, Satvinder has a real understanding of the specific needs of the Asian wedding market as well as the many other cultures that make up the Leeds Bradford community. Married herself she says, “I enjoy holding the bride’s hand through all the arrangements and can offer suggestions that make each event extra special. We are fortunate here at the Cedar Court to have the most fantastic facilities for very big occasions including the large number of rooms we set aside for Muslim prayer which can be a very important element of the day.”

She continued, “For different religious cultures we can recommend caterers who come in and cater to the specific needs of each event and of course our own kitchen offers a good choice of British menus. The main banqueting room lends itself for dressing up with a theme and Asian weddings in particular just make the whole place look spectacular.”

Unsung female heroes honoured at Fourth annual Bradford Inspirational Women Awards

News

Aalia Khan

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March 30, 2015

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Unsung female heroes honoured at Fourth annual Bradford Inspirational Women Awards

Bradford’s unsung female heroes were once again honoured for their contributions and achievements across public and home life at the fourth, annual Bradford Inspirational Women Awards (BIWA), which took place on Saturday 28 March at Life Centre, Wapping Road, Bradford, BD3 0EQ

The Inspirational Women Foundation hosts the Bradford Inspirational Women Awards each year, with a view to inspire and aspire future generations. This year’s award ceremony was once again presented by broadcasters, Sunny and Shay Grewal. Chief Guests included athlete and Paralympic head coach Paula Dunn; Shadow Equalities Minister in the House of Lords, Baroness Glenys Thornton; former leader and former vice chair of the Respect party, Salma Yaqoob; and Respect Party MP for Bradford West, George Galloway among other high profile attendees.

All funds raised from the night via ticket sales will be used to support female causes such as court fees for women who have been subjected to sexual harassment in the work place; supporting victims of domestic violence, women struggling to find work, women in business and other worthy causes.

The award ceremony, which highlights the stories of the district’s inspirational women, continues to go from strength to strength with a new category added each year. This year’s new category was Inspirational Woman Teacher. In addition, two Special Awards for Woman of the Year and Mum of the Year (selected by public vote) were presented on the night by the founders of the Inspirational Woman Foundation – a not for profit organisation established to work with and to support women at home, in the workplace, in the community or in business, of which the Inspirational Women Awards are now a part. The event was supported by British Airways, who donated a return flight to New York for the Woman of the Year award recipient.

The shortlist represented the diverse communities of Bradford, with finalists comprising British-born, Bradford locals alongside those with heritage roots in Eastern Europe, India and Pakistan, with one nominee from a military background. The panel of judges comprised: Geraldine Howley, Group Chief Executive, Incommunities; Gary Peacock, General Manager, Midland Hotel; and Elizabeth Bradbury, CEO, Jewish Welfare Board.

Winners of the Bradford Inspirational Women Awards 2015:

Employee

Lynne Cunningham – YMCA

Public/Voluntary Sector

Yasmin Khan – Staying Put

Sports

Saima Hussain – Rugby player for Yorkshire and England Rugby team

Community Star and Woman of the Year

Beverley Barton

Business Woman

Liva Alberta – Concierge Estates

Teacher

Sally Layas – Holy Family Catholic School

Mum of the Year (selected by public vote)

Teresa Maria Gornall

Youth Award

Due to the hospitalisation of finalist, Ashleigh Mae Bowers, the panel deemed the category difficult to judge without her profile inclusion. As a result, all three finalists were winners: Ashleigh Mae Bowers, Amy Barker, Melissa Steele.

This year’s Special Founders Award was presented to the nurses and admin team on Ward 27 and Endocrinology and Diabetes unit, Bradford Teaching Hospitals. BIWA Founder, Fatima Patel, has suffered health issues since October 2013. Being bed bound for months was deeply challenging and disheartening for someone who has always been active. The nurses played a vital role in helping her maintain dignity and keeping her spirits high. The nurses go out of their way to make patients comfortable and the work they do often goes unnoticed. As a result, the Special Founders Award saluted all nurses, particularly the team at Bradford Teaching Hospitals.

Editor, Asian Sunday newspaper and BIWA Founder, Fatima Patel, has herself experienced a remarkable and inspirational journey in the past year, which made the cause this year even more personal. She said, “It was lovely to see so many people come together, united for women and equality. As long as inequalities remain for women, the Inspirational Women Foundation will remain in existence and keep promoting, empowering and inspiring.

Jane Vincent, Inspirational Women Foundation and BIWA Co-Founder said, “The awards tonight have been the strongest yet and that is evident from the number of people who have attended today, coming from all parts of the country. It has been a great evening as always and we are proud to once again show off Bradford’s inspirations.”

Four Bradford councillors join Respect

News

Aalia Khan

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March 30, 2015

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Four independent Bradford councillors have joined Respect, bringing the number belonging to George Galloway’s party on the council to five.

The four are Faisal Khan (Bradford Moor), Alyas Karmani, (Little Horton), Ishtiaq Ahmed (Manningham) and Ruqayyah Collector (City). The councillors were originally elected as Respect councillors following Galloway’s sweeping 2012 by-election victory. Asama Javed, who recently joined Respect from Labour, is the fifth. She is the party’s candidate in Halifax in the forthcoming General Election

“I am delighted to welcome our four comrades back and looking forward to working with them in the future,” said George Galloway. “New Labour is imploding in Bradford. We’ve seen the sad shenanigans over the selection of a candidate to oppose me at the General Election, with the one who came bottom of the poll imposed on the local party. And it’s an open secret that the Bradford party and the Labour group on the council are riven with internal dissension.

“I am confident that this won’t be the last such announcement,” Galloway added.

Ishtiaq Ahmed said “After much consideration and reflection over the last few months we are pleased to announce that we will be rejoining the Respect Party in Bradford from immediate effect. In October 2013 we resigned from Respect due to unresolved issues within the party, these were mainly administrative and operational issues and we had since remained as Independents in Bradford Council.

In essence these fundamental issues have now been resolved through intense dialogue initiated by Respect officials and a clear strategy has been formulated to move the party forward, taking this into consideration we feel it is the appropriate move for Bradford and our respective ward members, regrettably other mainstream political parties have failed yet again to demonstrate that they actually represent the best interests of the ordinary working class, and this is clearly demonstrated by the dire education situation in Bradford which they have failed to recognise and tackle.

It is our intention to continue working for people from all backgrounds to help drive a broad set of policies focussed on things that matter to people – the local economy, education, health, quality of life and robust long-range planning. Needless to say we will remain committed to the electorate and will continue to advocate for the citizens of Bradford, and work hard for the interests of our constituents and we will continue to represent them in Council on the issues that affect them in the District just as we have done over the last 3 years since being elected.

KAIF ARRIVES AT MADAME TUSSAUDS

Showbiz

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March 28, 2015

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Stunning Bollywood mega star, Katrina Kaif became the seventh Bollywood actor to be honoured with a figure at Madame Tussauds London, yesterday Friday 27 March – her inclusion has a special significance as she was voted for by fans, just as Amitabh Bachcahn was in 2000.

Katrina, who collaborated closely with the Madame Tussauds artistic team to ensure total accuracy, was delighted with the figure, which is portrayed in a dancing pose wearing a beautiful sequined white, silver and gold, two piece outfit by Manish Malhorta. “It’s an amazing honour to be asked to be featured alongside icons of the Indian film industry,” the actresss commented. “I have really enjoyed working with the team and am delighted with the end result. I can’t believe how detailed and accurate it is. It is just like looking in a mirror in 3D.”

“We have a long and strong relationship with the Indian film industry and our Bollywood figures are hugely popular with guests,” commented Madame Tussauds London’s General Manager, Ben Sweet. He continued: “We are delighted to welcome Katrina to the ever growing Bollywood A-list here, the first to be featured in a glamorous new setting where guests can get up close with some of the biggest film stars in the world, from Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, to Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit-Nene”.

Katrina’s figure was created by a team of 20 sculptors and artists over a four month period, using hundreds of precise measurements taken at a sitting in Mumbai and cost £150,000 to create.

The full Bollywood line up at Madame Tussauds London is:

o Amitabh Bachchan (2000)

o Aishwarya Rai (2004)

o Shah Rukh Khan (2007)

o Salman Khan (2008)

o Hrithik Roshan (2011)

o Madhuri Dixit-Nene (2012)

o Katrina Kaif (from March 2015)

The Bollywood factor has spread worldwide with a number of Madame Tussauds attractions around the world featuring Indian film stars and Kaif’s additions yesterday brought a 15 year celebration of Madame Tussauds affair with Bollywood.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUGvtEF_8x8&feature=youtu.be

Peacock design prompts search for next henna star Divya Madhani

Life & style

Ninder Kaur

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March 27, 2015

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When world-leading henna artist, Ash Kumar, unveiled his latest project in East London, he discovered more than he expected when he came across a drawing by the UK’s next henna star.

Ash Kumar has swapped his A-list clients such as Madonna and Julia Roberts for something new. The two time Guinness World Record holder for being the world’s fastest henna artist has taken on a new challenge. As part of a Bollywood-inspired party in Newham, Ash Kumar worked with residents to design a Virgin Media engineer’s van to mark the lightning-fast broadband provider’s expansion to 100,000 homes in East London.

Henna-inspired van designed for Virgin Media

Talking about the project, Ash Kumar, said: “Henna has never been used like this before so when Virgin Media asked me if I could create a bespoke henna design for Talay’s van I was really excited about getting involved.”

Virgin Media Apprentice Talay Ibrahim said: “The makeover Ash has given my van will be a great talking point with everyone as we connect more people to our ultrafast network in East London. The other engineers will definitely be jealous and will be clamouring for a new look for their vans too.”

Neil Bartholomew, Executive Director at Virgin Media said: “Working with Ash Kumar has been fantastic, helping us raise awareness of the importance of better access to the digital world. Thousands more homes across East London are now able to benefit for the first time from the UK’s fastest broadband.”

One resident in particular, Divya Madhani, caught the eye of the A-list celebrity artist with her peacock inspired henna doodle. The intrinsic illustration stood out amongst the other designs and Ash Kumar is now appealing for Divya to come forward.

Ash Kumar said: “It’s clear from Divya’s design that she has incredible talent and I would love to help nurture her natural ability. I urge anyone who knows her to ask Divya to get in touch.”

Thankfully, the budding artist has signed her henna design and this signature combined with a picture of the henna has provided Mr Kumar with a starting point to help track her down.

The search has been launched to find the rising henna star and with Ash Kumar’s backing, Virgin Media will fund her place on a professional course at the Ash Kumar Academy so that she can hone her skills and achieve a qualification.

If anyone has contact details for Divya or any information which may help to track her down should, please email virginmediahenna@speedcomms.com or tweet @virginmedia using #FindDivya

Van-tastic ! Henna artist Ash Kumar gives Virgin Media vans a Bollywood makeover

Zayn Malik substitutes the high life for a private life

News
Showbiz

Aalia Khan

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March 26, 2015

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Zayn Malik substitutes the high life for a private life

It was confirmed yesterday that singer Zayn Malik has decided to leave one of the most famous bands of today’s generation One Direction. Malik confirmed in a statement that his life with One Direction has been amazing but he now needs to lead a more private life away from the eyes of the world.

Malik has recently undergone much stress when rumours spiralled that he had been unfaithful to fiancé Perrie Edwards, this lead to him not taking part in the group’s current world tour and then his news of leaving the band.

The band will continue with Louis, Liam, Niall and Harry and in a statement from One Direction the boys said they were sad to see Zayn leave but respect his decision. They also confirmed that they will continue as a four and are looking forward to their new album and continuing the world tour.

The Bradford born and bred star has done Bradford proud and we wish him the best of luck in his future!