Sindh Games trophy unveiled

KARACHI: The Mohenjo-Daro Trophy and the slogan for the 13th Sindh Games to be held in Karachi from June 14 to 16 were unveiled by the Sindh Sports Minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah at a ceremony held yesterday.

‘Sports bring happiness’ was coined as the slogan for the Games which will feature 2,200 athletes in 53 disciplines during the three-day event. Previously 2,300 athletes were due to participate from the five regions of Sindh but the ministry had to ask the divisions to cut their numbers due to funding issues.

Dr Shah thanked the Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah for contributing an additional Rs 500,000 on his own in addition to the original grant of Rs 10 million for the Games but he also revealed that the ministry had, at the time, only received one million rupees from the Sindh Finance Department.

According to the minister, the biggest feature of the event was the inclusion of players from different sports departments while reminding the federations that the athletes should only be residents from the province to be eligible for participation while there was no age restriction.

“I’ve taken the decision of including players from different departments but who live in Sindh for this event,” said Dr Shah. “I think this will attract more spectators and will also improve the standard of competition. This is the reason behind abolishing the age limits from the tournament. We want every athlete in Sindh to participate in the Games.”

He added that it was the first time that ministry was holding the Games in collaboration with the academic institutions including the University of Karachi and the NED University where many events, including baseball, basketball and judo, will take place.

The Sindh Sports Ministry is also providing the athletes with medical insurance for the event while the SSPO, DIG traffic and rangers will provide security arrangements for the event and venues.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2010.