Sindh Games: ‘Event should be held in Karachi only’

This year’s event features over 2,000 athletes taking part in 48 disciplines.


Our Correspondent March 31, 2012

MIRPUR KHAS:


Lack of facilities and poor arrangements in Mirpurkhas have forced the athletes to press for the Sindh Games to be held in Karachi only.


This year’s event features over 2,000 athletes taking part in 48 disciplines but has failed to come up to the participants’ expectations as the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) faces difficulty in arranging lodging and playing facilities for everyone.

Some players are forced to sleep on the floor while others complain that the accommodation provided by the SOA is uncomfortable and upsetting them, forcing them to deliver below-par show in the events.

“It’s just crazy, they should have kept the games in Karachi,’ Nusrat Khan, a netball player from Larkana, told The Express Tribune. “We enjoyed the event in 2010 but here people are actually lost, no one knows anything and the stadium as well as the facilities are a total mess.’

Similarly, Sukkur’s kabaddi player Ikhtiar Ali said that the SOA should follow Punjab Olympic Association’s footsteps, as the Punjab Games always take place in Lahore.

However, according to the SOA Secretary Ahmed Rajput, promoting sports in the province, and not convenience, is the aim of the event.

“It’s 10 times easier to hold the games in Karachi,” said Rajput. “The facilities are better. But people should understand that if we keep the big events for Karachi, people from small cities will never get the exposure that they need. For example, the tennis courts in Mirpurkhas were a mess but after we decided to bring the event here, the local association was forced to renovate them.”

It was not just the players that were left complaining. Different associations, including that of table tennis and gymnastics, also complained about poor facilities.

“I miss playing in Karachi because at least the tables are polished and smooth,” said Shumail Asif, a Hyderabad table tennis player.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2012.

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