Youth Festival: Indian women win, men lose kabaddi matches

Indian women’s team wins with final score of 38-15 points, Pakistan’s men’s team scores 51-34.

LAHORE:

Pakistan’s men’s kabaddi team defeated India at the Punjab Youth Festival on Monday.

The final score was 51-34.

The Indian women’s kabaddi team defeated Pakistan with a final score of 38-15 points.

Punjab Sports Board Steering Committee Chairman Hamza Shahbaz was the chief guest. Minister for Sports and Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Sports Board Director Usman Anwar were also present.

During the men’s game, Pakistan had led with a score of 30-13 points at the interval. India did better in the second half and managed to take their score to 34.

Pakistan’s Lala Obaidullah and Babar Gujjar scored 12 and eight points, respectively. Akmal Shahzad Gujjar, Matloob Ahmed and Mohsin Naseer scored five points each.

Rana Nadeem, Khalid Mehar and Shafiq Chishti scored four points each. Tajammul Bajwa grabbed two points. Imran, Waqas Gujjar and Ramazan Jani scored one point each.

Raider Sandeep Singh led the Indian team with nine points. Lovepreet Singh and Vicky added five and four points, respectively, for their team.

The Indian women’s team defeated Pakistan without too much trouble. India’s Kulwinder Singh and Sukhwinder Singh claimed nine points each. Priyanka Devi scored eight points and Anu Rani and Manpreet Kaur scored six points each.

Nida Butt scored four points for Pakistan. Madeeha Lateef and Augusta scored three points each. Neelam Riaz and Saira Shah registered two points each followed by Saadia Khaliq with one point.

Speaking at the occasion, MNA Hamza Shahbaz Sharif said, “Winning and losing does not matter all that much when it comes to Pakistan and India.

Healthy competition helps improve relations between the two countries.” He said Pakistan and India shared historical and cultural ties.

“The Punjab Youth Festival aims to bring people closer through sports. We will arrange more such events and set more world records,” he added.

Provincial games

Lahore defeated Sahiwal in the table tennis game at the Punjab College Hall. Saadi Saud of Lahore beat Sahiwal’s Nauman and Shahzain of Sahiwal beat Lahore’s Irtaza Ali to level the match.

Lahore’s Shoaib and Saadi Saud defeated Afaq and Shahzain to help Lahore qualify for the finals.

In the second semi-finals, Faisalabad defeated Rawalpindi 3-2.

In the universities matches, Lahore beat Rawalpindi 3-0 and Sargodha beat Faisalabad 3-1 in the college category.

In taekwondo open competitions held at Nishtar Park Gymnasium Hall, Mubeen Munawar of Gujranwala clinched gold in 55 kg weight category while Zeeshan Shabbir of Lahore stood second.

In 65 kg category, Sarosh Anjum of Lahore earned gold. Faisalabad Muhammad Suleman was runner-up.

The 75kg weight category title went to Safyan Anayat of Lahore while Saqlain Noor of Multan secured second position.

In the initial competitions of the touch-ball event held at the Physical College Gulberg, Lahore thrashed Sargodha 7-0 while Bahawalpur defeated Rawalpindi 5-0, Sargodha beat DG Khan 2-1 and Multan beat Sahiwal 4-0.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2014.