32nd National Games: Army, Navy, PAF boycott ‘illegal’ event
WAPDA shine on opening day in Lahore.
KARACHI:
The 32nd National Games began in Lahore yesterday without big names Army, Navy and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) who backed out of the event after terming the event ‘illegal’.
According to the officials, last year’s top squad Army opted not to participate in the Games as they believe the Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA) has violated the Pakistan Sports Board’s policy that strictly prohibits its office-bearers from remaining in charge for more than two terms.
“We are not missing out on anything as we don’t consider this as a proper event at all,” an Armed forces official told The Express Tribune. “Although Army has been the most successful team in the history of the Games, we do not regret the decision. We believe that the organisers are doing it illegally and we hope that they’d be punished for defying the Supreme Court order.”
Despite the controversy, PbOA Secretary Idrees Haider Khwaja claimed that the event – featuring 27 men and 14 female disciplines – will not be affected by the absence of the teams.
“Just because three teams have decided to back off doesn’t mean we would stop the event for them,” said Khwaja. “We have got the approval from the Punjab government and there is nothing illegal about it.”
Wapda shine on day one
Meanwhile, Mohammad Shakeel and Raheela Bano gave Wapda a flying start, winning gold medals in the one-kilometre the 500m time-trial events in cycling.
Wapda also clinched gold in the men’s 50m pistol competition with 1,373 points, while HEC and Federal Area grabbed silver and bronze medals respectively. There was more glory for Wapda as Mohammad Abbas grabbed the gold medal in the men’s 50m pistol individual event with 497 points followed by Federal’s Tariq Manzoor and HEC’s Mohammad Uzair. In the women’s 50-metre individual shooting event, Sindh’s Alizeh Babar won the gold while Wapda’s Urooj bagged silver and Punjab’s Fiza Mohammad finished third. HEC women shooters won the gold in the 10m air rifle event. Punjab secured second while Wapda clinched third position.
In the volleyball event, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa defeated Sindh 3-1 while Punjab outplayed Balochistan 3-0 in the opening matches.
The boxing and athletics events will begin today.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2012.
The 32nd National Games began in Lahore yesterday without big names Army, Navy and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) who backed out of the event after terming the event ‘illegal’.
According to the officials, last year’s top squad Army opted not to participate in the Games as they believe the Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA) has violated the Pakistan Sports Board’s policy that strictly prohibits its office-bearers from remaining in charge for more than two terms.
“We are not missing out on anything as we don’t consider this as a proper event at all,” an Armed forces official told The Express Tribune. “Although Army has been the most successful team in the history of the Games, we do not regret the decision. We believe that the organisers are doing it illegally and we hope that they’d be punished for defying the Supreme Court order.”
Despite the controversy, PbOA Secretary Idrees Haider Khwaja claimed that the event – featuring 27 men and 14 female disciplines – will not be affected by the absence of the teams.
“Just because three teams have decided to back off doesn’t mean we would stop the event for them,” said Khwaja. “We have got the approval from the Punjab government and there is nothing illegal about it.”
Wapda shine on day one
Meanwhile, Mohammad Shakeel and Raheela Bano gave Wapda a flying start, winning gold medals in the one-kilometre the 500m time-trial events in cycling.
Wapda also clinched gold in the men’s 50m pistol competition with 1,373 points, while HEC and Federal Area grabbed silver and bronze medals respectively. There was more glory for Wapda as Mohammad Abbas grabbed the gold medal in the men’s 50m pistol individual event with 497 points followed by Federal’s Tariq Manzoor and HEC’s Mohammad Uzair. In the women’s 50-metre individual shooting event, Sindh’s Alizeh Babar won the gold while Wapda’s Urooj bagged silver and Punjab’s Fiza Mohammad finished third. HEC women shooters won the gold in the 10m air rifle event. Punjab secured second while Wapda clinched third position.
In the volleyball event, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa defeated Sindh 3-1 while Punjab outplayed Balochistan 3-0 in the opening matches.
The boxing and athletics events will begin today.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2012.