June 18, 2010

Sindh Games concludes with a spectacular ceremony

.

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The curtain fell on the 13th Sindh Games 2010 with a spectacular closing ceremony under floodlights at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in North Nazimabad on June 16. There was live music and fireworks to entertain the participants and the cheering crowd.

Sindh Education Minister, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, declared the Games closed after awarding the Mohenjodaro Trophy to Karachi, who extended their complete dominance in the provincial event by winning it for 13th time in a row.

He complimented the provincial sports department to have held two editions of Sindh Games in successive years while urging them to offer greater encouragement to the practitioners of the indigenous sports like malakhro, kodi kodi and wanjwatti.

Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, who is also President of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), attributed the success of the Games to teamwork and he recognized the contribution of the various individuals and institutions.

Dr Shah, chiefly responsible for having the Games staged in the unlikeliest of situations, was himself the motivating force behind the spectacular closing ceremony held at the stadium built by him in 1994.

It was in the fitness of things that the Sindh Games came to the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium with a bang. It was for the first time that the picturesque stadium, having hosted fabulous cricket matches on a regular basis, hosted a Sindh Games event and what an occasion it turned out to be. It was a memorable evening for the young athletes in particular who were even amused by the settings.

In his welcome address, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, did observe that the smiles on the faces of the participating athletes and their officials from every nook and corner of the province was a reflection that sports indeed spread happiness.

He didn’t mince words in stating that his department had been entrusted to organize the Sindh Games at a short notice and they had to mobilize all their reserve energies to meet the challenge.

Karachi Region, by securing as many as 115 gold medals, stood head and shoulders above their nearest rivals Hyderabad who bagged 15 gold medals with Sukkur, Larkana and Mirpurkhas sharing the next three positions. Larkana, however, had the consolation of collecting the Fair Play Trophy.

The individual glories also came Karachi’s way as the versatile female athlete, Almas Ibrahim, repeated her feat in Larkana a year ago by bagging seven gold medals again. Javed Taqi was declared the best male athlete for having earned seven gold medals in swimming.

The 13th edition of the Sindh Games lasted three days in which the male athletes competed in 36 disciplines and the female athletes had 17 events to participate. The mind sport of bridge made a debut with individual and pair events. Another heartening feature of the Games was the overcast weather condition much to the relief of the participating athletes.

There were odd reports of organizational mismanagement during three high voltage days but it was not unexpected in the situation the event was being held.

0 comments

Recent Posts