Larkana wins Sindh Judo Championship 2017

Pakistan News & Features Services

Larkana emerged triumphant in the second edition of the Sindh Inter-District Judo Championship 2017 which concluded at the Dewa Complex in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi.

Sanghar ended as the runners-up and Mirpurkhus stood third in the two-day event which was organized by the Sindh Judo Association (SJA) with the collaboration of the Sindh Sports Board (SSB) and sponsored by Kohinoor Soap and Detergent (Pvt) Limited. 

A total of 24 players from six districts participated in the championship which was won by Larkana, who accumulated 36 points as they secured two gold medals and one bronze medal. 

There was tough fight for the top slot between Larkana and Sanghar districts with a solitary point separating the two outfits. Sanghar had to be content with the second position with a tally of 35 points as they claimed a gold medal besides two silver medals. 

Mirpurkhas earned 15 points by winning three bronze medals to take the third position while Hyderabad was relegated to the fourth slot with an aggregate on 10 points. Sukkur and Nawabshah jointly shared the fifth position in the table by winning a bronze medal each.

Contests were held in the three weight categories of 50 kg, 56 kg and open weight. The 24 participants were initially engaged in preliminary round fights. 

In the finals, fierce bouts took place between the judokas of Larkana and Sanghar while defending champions Sukkur were unable to reproduce the form they had displayed in the inaugural championship. 

Mohammad Ali performed the duties of chief referee while the panel of referees also contained Mohammad Ammad, Dilawar Khan Mannan, Shahid Ansari, Ijaz Ali Buledi, Rao Wajid, Fatima Irfan and Hina Subhan. 

Syed Wasim Hashmi, President, SJA, in his welcome address during the presentation ceremony, spoke about the recent initiatives undertaken by the provincial body in the further development of judo. 

Ahmed Ali Rajput, Secretary General, SOA, was prominent among those having attended the prize distribution ceremony.

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Shoaib Siddiqui plans taking bowling to interior of Sindh

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, who has been the motivating force in making things happens on a fast track as far as the activities of sports at the provincial level are concerned, has vowed to take the sport of bowling, popular sport of the urban areas, to the interior regions of the province.

Shoaib Siddiqui, who had taken over the chief of the sports department of Sindh in October 2008, firmly believes that it’s the fundamental right if every citizen to have access to the sporting facilities.

More significantly he also reckons that the government, besides the corporate sector, has a responsibility to create the sports infrastructure to let the common man engage himself in healthy activities.

The visionary and responsible government officers like him, who believe in meeting the challenge and overcoming the obstacles, are the ones who bring about a change despite the shortcomings in the system. It’s easier said than done.

Shoaib Siddiqui gladdened the hearts of the enthusiasts of the sport of bowling by supporting one of their tournaments recently which was organized by the Sindh Tenpin Bowling Association with the venue being the bustling Thunder Pins housed in Millennium Mall which is one of the favourite destinations for the youth of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and other adjoining areas.

It was the first ranking bowling event to be staged in Pakistan, made possible by the Sindh Sports Board (SSB). It was a major accomplishment for the organizers who had also made an appearance in the 13th Sindh Games 2010 held in Karachi.

The inaugural Sindh Inter-League Bowling Tournament 2010 was acclaimed as a success story with about 50 bowlers having registered in the masters and amateur categories. The outstanding performers of the landmark three-day were rewarded with cash prizes besides certificates and trophies.

Hanif Mohammad Mirchawala, Director Sports, Government of Sindh, was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony of the tournament having been inaugurated by the departmental chief, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui.

“I suggest that the Sindh Sport Board should provide us with the space to open up a bowling arena in terms of private-public partnership. We are trying our level best to make this sports reachable for every class, a technician who won gold dedal in 13thSindh Games Tenpin Bowling Event 2010 amateur category is the living example,” Romis Ali General Secretary, STBA, observed in his welcome speech.

Top Seed Shabbir Lashkarwala lived up to the billing to become the first Sindh Inter-League champion by scoring an average of 172. He was also the gold medalist in the13th Sindh Games 2010 Tenpin Bowling event.

Rashid Ali, Syed Zubair and Aleem Agha claimed the next three positions in the masters’ category with Mahmood Ahmed claiming the award for the highest score of 236.

Abdullah Tahir emerged the champion in the amateur singles while the next three positions were shared by Shahjahan, Abid Ahmed and Faizan Tariq. Abdullah Tahir got another prize for his being the top scorer with 214.

Sindh Whites, comprising of Khawaja Ahmed, Zubair Ali, Naeem, and Abdullah Tahi, won the team event with Sindh Green, featuring Robert, Shahjahan, Sarim and Mahmood Ahmed, finishing as the runner-up and Sindh Blues, containing Naseem Ahmed Qureshi, Shabbir Lashkerwala, Farhan Riaz and Abid Ahmed, getting third position.

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Sindh Sports Boards brings smiles on faces of flood victims

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Sindh Sports Board (SSB) has organized competitions of the various indigenous games at the relief camps in different parts of the province as a part of the drive undertaken by the government to raise the spirits of the people having had to relocate there following the devastation caused by the floods in their respective areas.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, who is also Secretary of the SSB, informed the media that the competitions of kodi kodi, wanjwatti, malakhro and tug of war were held at the SITE, Hawkesbay and Gadap camps of Karachi besides Khairpur, Sukkur and Jamshoro.

He disclosed that individual as well as team events were held among the camp residents and cash awards were also disbursed among the outstanding performers.

The celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr were kept low-key throughout Pakistan in view of the devastation caused by the worst-ever floods in the country’s history, affecting some 20 million people and leaving ten million victims shelter-less across the country.

Eid was celebrated modestly as the fallout from devastating floods continued. It was a thoughtful decision of the Government of Sindh to have made an attempt to bring smiles on the faces of the flood victims on the occasion of Eid.

At this point of time any help act of kindness would have been welcome. It was nice of the sports department of the provincial government to have thought of the people having had to be confined in relief camps.

The personnel of the sports department of the Government of Sindh organized the various sports competitions, during the course of the Eid vacations, for those having been affected and displaced by the devastating floods. Separate events were held for the children as well. Sports after all remains the tool uniting the nation.

The recent floods have wreaked havoc in Pakistan. Many small towns and villages have been completely wiped off, dams have given way. The total loss cannot be computed but it would be more than the combined loss from four major world catastrophes-the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake and our own earthquake of 2005. Nothing like this has happened in the last 100 years.

"We cannot celebrate the day with traditional fanfare and festivities when millions of our countrymen have been rendered shelter-less as villages, towns and cities have been destroyed by the floods,” President Asif Ali Zardari had observed in his Eid message to the nation.

“This year’s Eid festival is being celebrated on such a moment of history, when a large part of country is under the devastation caused by floods. Millions of fellow countrymen are homeless and facing severe difficulties,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani noted in his Eid message.

“The country has come together with generosity to lessen the hardship faced by the flood victims. No doubt, brave nations face the challenges with courage and mettle,” the Prime Minister reckoned.

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Traditional sports come alive in Sindh

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There has been a flurry of activities of late as far as the traditional sports are concerned in the province of Sindh. After having organized the spectacle of Donkey Cart Race in Karachi, the Sindh Sports Board (SSB), an organ of the Ministry of Sports, Government of Sindh, has held quite a few other events in the interior regions to bring smiles on the faces of the people who generally don’t have the access to healthy and recreational activities.

It’s indeed very heartening to note that besides patronizing the Olympic sports, SSB has also been laying emphasis on promoting traditional sports like kodi kodi, malakhro and wanjwatti.

The provincial government’s sports department, headed by their versatile and visionary Secretary, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, has been doing a fantastic job by engaging the youth in healthy competitions. It has been the policy of the Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, to ensure sports events throughout the year.

After all it was his brave decision to hold the last Sindh Games during the month of May in Larkana, a move that had pleasantly surprised even the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who was the guest of honour in the closing ceremony.

Not surprisingly the malhs from the interior of the province dominated the Inter-District Malakhro Championship 2010 organised by the SSB in the town of Hala recent where the contests were held in three weight categories, heavy, medium and light and cash awards of Rs 40,000 were disbursed in the prize distribution ceremony in which Mohammad Hanif Mirchiwala, Director Sports, Government of Sindh, was the chief guest.

Rahat Pahgon, Ali Nawaz Methlo, Muslim Solangi, Maula Bakhsh, Safdar Almani and Mantha Bugti turned out to be the outstanding performers in the latest Malh contest staged by the SSB as part of their efforts to promote traditional sports.

The malhs from Khairpur and Nawabshah stole the limelight in an Inter-District Malakhro Championship 2010 organized by the SSB in the town of Panno Aaqil the following day.

Mohammad Phalpoto of Khairpur stood first in the heavyweight category with Qurban Halepoto and Haji Haepoto, both of them from Nawabshah, grabbed second and third position respectively.

The contests were held in three weight categories, heavy, medium and light and cash awards of Rs 45,000 were disbursed among the top three performers in the prize distribution ceremony in which Syed Sumair Ahmed, EDO, CDD, Sukkur, was the chief guest.

It was revealed than more than 10,000 people turned up to witness the latest Malh contest staged by the SSB much to the delight of the enthusiasts of the traditional sports.

Then hosts Ghotki emerged triumphant in the Inter-Taluka Kodi Kodi Tournament 2010, organized by the SSB as part of their plans to revitalize the traditional sports.

Once more thousands of area people turned to witness the spectacle in which the team from Ghotki took the first position and Mir Mathelo stood second while the next two slots were shared by Sarkand and Dehri.

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