Tribute to martyrs: Badminton tournament to start today

Rs0.6m set as prize money

PESHAWAR: The All Pakistan Shudada-e-Army National Ranking Badminton Tournament will start on April 28 (today) and will go on till May 3 at Peshawar Services Club. The announcement was made by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Badminton Association President Zafar Ali Khan.

“The aim is to pay honour martyrs of Pakistan Army,” he said during a press conference at the club on Wednesday. The director general of sports and the club have partnered with the badminton association. Zafar Ali added prize money amounting to Rs0.6 million has been set.

Around 120 badminton players will vie for the top honour in men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles.

“Now we are heading towards normalcy,” he said. “Therefore, it is necessary to involve the youth —who are traumatised and were confined to their homes— in sports and provide them better opportunities [to showcase] their talent.”

Flanked by Organising Committee Secretary Mian Sadaqat Shah who is also secretary of the badminton association, Zafar Ali said many players will partake in the tournament. They include those associated with Pakistan Badminton Federation, Pakistan Army, Water and Power Development Authority, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Police, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited, Pakistan International Airlines, National Bank of Pakistan and from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, the tribal areas, Islamabad and the four provinces.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2016.