KPC Sports Festival concludes with a fabulous ceremony

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The prize distribution ceremony of the Karachi Press Club’s Summer Sports Festival 2010, held on July 30, turned out to be quite an event with the likes of Dr Mohammad Ali Shah and Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui making the occasion a memorable one.

The Ibrahim Jalees Hall was already packed to capacity when Shoaib Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, arrived at 6.45 pm and then the convoy of Dr Shah reached the club within the next 15 minutes.

As planned the ceremony started at a few minutes past seven and the intensity remained high until the prizes were distributed after speeches by the two dignitaries and the top officials of the club.

As promised cash awards were disbursed among the top three position holders of all five tournaments. The winners were presented Rs 5,000 each and those having ended runner-up received Rs 3,000 each. There was also a purse of Rs 2,000 for each of those having finished third in their respective events.
Besides the cash there was also an incentive in the shape of a certificate of merit, documenting the award and carrying the signatures of Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, Shoaib Ahmed, Imtiaz Khan Faran, A H Khanzada and Syed Khalid Mahmood.

Khurram Baig, who won the table tennis tournament, was quick to remark that he would cherish the certificate and preserve it for a while. The statement was reflective of his positive mindset.

The other award winners were also quite delighted and it was very heartening indeed that all of them turned up to receive the award personally from the chief guest. A couple of them reached the venue a few minutes late but most importantly they made it and their moment of glory was seized by the camera.

The speeches of Dr Mohammad Ali Shah and Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui were music to the ears of the members of the Karachi Press Club who were thoroughly praised for their enthusiasm in the field of sports besides discharging their professional duties.

They were appreciative of the sporting spirit of the Governing Body of the club that took the decision to revive the Sports Festival.

The KPC officials present on the occasion also did not let go the opportunity of recognizing the monumental efforts of Dr Shah and Shoaib Siddiqui in bringing sports to life throughout the province. They have also been instrumental in building a solid relationship between the sports department of the Government of Sindh and the KPC.

Following were the prize winners:
Snooker: Masroor Afzal Pasha (Daily Times) 1st; Faizan Lakhani (Geo TV) 2nd; Qasim Khan (Dawn TV) 3rd
Chess: Anwar Mooraj (Freelance) 1st; Mohammad Shahid (Monthly Fanoos) 2nd; Hasan Mansoor (AFP) 2nd.
Scrabble: Mohammad Shahid (Monthly Fanoos) 1st; Mohammad Afaq (Daily Muqadma) 2nd; Irshad Ali (Aaj TV) 3rd.
Badminton: Jahangir Khan (APP) 1st; Azhar Sultan (Samaa TV) 2nd; Kaleemuddin (Geo TV) 3rd.
Table Tennis: Khurram Baig (Express Tribune) 1st; Mohammad Azhar (Din) 2nd; Mahmood Ahmed Khan (Mahshar) 3rd.

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Dr Shah praises KPC for organizing Sports Festival

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The curtain fell on the Karachi Press Club (KPC) Summer Sports Festival 2010 with a fabulous prize distribution ceremony at the club’s Ibrahim Jalees Hall on July 30.

Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Syed Mohammad Ali Shah, who had reached Karachi from London earlier in the morning, was accorded a very warm welcome as he reached the KPC at the designated time of 7 pm to preside over the function.

In his speech on the occasion, Dr Shah, who is also the President of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), commended the Governing Body of the KPC for having revived the Sports Festival and he vowed to support it in the future as well.

“We would be more than glad to support even more than one Sports Festival in a year at the KPC. So be prepared to hold a Winter Sports Festival later this year in which the sports department of the Government of Sindh will extend your institution similar support,” Dr Shah announced.

“The media professionals are not too dissimilar to the doctors who have to be on their toes all the time. It’s really very heartening that the KPC members squeezed time to compete in the tournaments so enthusiastically,” he noted.

“It has always been a pleasure to be at the KPC. In fact I find the atmosphere very homely here. It’s my own club and I would be more than glad to contribute my bit in its further development,” Dr Shah remarked.

He shared his SOA experiences, recalling that there was barely Rs 13,000 or so in its account for decades but he has now turned it around by securing a grant of Rs four million from the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, besides getting approved an annual grant of Rs 10 million.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, who played the pivotal role in facilitating the KPC Sports Festival, delivered a brief speech in which he expressed his delight with the success of the event.

“The sports department is always there to implement the policies of our versatile minister, Dr Shah, who had appreciated the idea of the revival of the KPC Sports Festival while readily agreeing to offer support for the venture,” Shoaib Siddiqui observed.

The President of the KPC, Imtiaz Khan Faran, paid glowing tributes to Dr Shah and Shoaib Siddiqui for having fulfilled their promise so quickly that enabled the Sports Festival to start and finish at the scheduled time.

The Secretary of the KPC, A H Khanzada, expressed similar sentiments and he dwelled on the development of a Mini Sports Complex in the backyard of the club, seeking help from the Government of Sindh for this project.

Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, the chief guest of the evening, and Shoaib Siddiqui then distributed cash prizes and certificates among the top three position holders of all the five tournaments held during the month-long festival having been inaugurated on June 30.

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Shaukat Omari inaugurates KPC Table Tennis tourney

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Honorary Secretary of the Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA), Shaukat Omari, inaugurated the Karachi Press Club’s Table Tennis Tournament at the Club’s Khoja Hall on July 22.

The table tennis tournament is a part of the Karachi Press Club’s Summer Sports Festival 2010 being held with the support of the sports department of the Government of Sindh. The competitions in snooker, chess, scrabble and badminton have already been completed.

It may be recalled that the KPC Summer Sports Festival 2010 was opened by Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, in a very impressing ceremony on June 30.

Shaukat Omari, an active social worker besides being a former table tennis champion, placed on record his appreciation for the officials of the Karachi Press Club to have revived the Sports Festival that used to be quite a sought after event in the past.

The inauguration ceremony of the table tennis tournament turned out to be quite lively in the presence of a large number of media corps. After performing the formality of cutting the ribbon, Shaukat Omari played a couple of big rallies with Khurram Baig, Secretary of the KPC’s Indoor Games Committee.

There were no speeches on the occasion but the KTTA Secretary could not conceal his feelings and he was friendly enough to share them with the media.

“I am really thrilled to watch my media friends taking to table tennis so seriously,” he observed in a friendly chat while a group of enthusiastic KPC members displayed their talents on the table in the air-conditioned hall.

“I think it would be a better idea to have more than one table, space permitting. Table Tennis, besides providing recreation, is also very helpful in burning calories and the busy media professionals can have a game or two in the limited space between their pressing assignments,” Shaukat Omari suggested.

The KPC President, Imtiaz Khan Faran, complimented the Sports Committee for having done a fabulous job and he encouraged them to continue doing the good work despite the uncalled for and even senseless criticism from certain quarters.

He also announced that the Governing Body of the KPC was considering the proposal of building a mini-sports complex type of thing in the backyard.

Meanwhile a total of 19 entries were received for the KPC Table Tennis Tournament, being played on knockout basis.

The draws were taken out by Zulfiqar Ahmed, Joint Secretary, KTTA, in the presence of the participants and the KPC officials soon after the inauguration ceremony. The matches will start at 4 pm on July 23 with the semifinals and the final to be played on July 24.

Khurram Baig, Maqsood Hussain, Rashid Ali Khan, Ashraf Khan, Saddam Tufail Hashmi, Hasan Mansoor, Mohammad Azhar and Ehsan Qureshi were given a bye in the first round while the other KPC members to have entered the contest are Ubaid Narejo, Moosa Kaleem, Syed Javed Iqbal, Mahmood Ahmed Khan, Zeeshan Azmat, Khurram Ali Shah, Akhtar Baloch, Adil Jawwad, Maqbool Ahmed, Jamal Khurshid and Nasim Rajput.

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KPT hosts KPC badminton tourney

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The badminton tournament of the ongoing Karachi Press Club (KPC) Summer Sports Festival 2010 was inaugurated here at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Sports Complex on July 15.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, was the guest of honour in the inauguration ceremony which was presided over by the chief of the Sindh Badminton Association (SBA), Raees Paracha.

Later the two senior bureaucrats, Shoaib Siddiqui and Raees Paracha, were escorted to the arena where they played a few rallies, turning back the years when they routinely visited badminton court.

The decision of the KPC Sports Committee to hold the badminton tournament of the Sports Festival at the centrally air-conditioned and well-maintained indoor gymnasium of the KPT Sports Complex was welcomed by all the participants.

After having staged the snooker, chess and scrabble tournaments at the club it was thought to provide the KPC members a chance to play badminton in the settings of KPT Sports Complex that not only possessed a court of high class but also had the perfect settings to host such an event.

The Chairperson of KPT, Nasreen Haq, was acknowledged during the opening ceremony for having promptly granted the approval of holding the KPC Badminton Tournament.

Engr Shah Naeem Zafar, who has been heading the sports department of the KPT for quite sometime, was also thanked for making the arrangements at a short notice.

In his brief speech on the occasion, Shoaib Siddiqui praised the initiatives of the Executive Committee of the KPC for having revived the Sports Festival which is now being supported by the sports department of the Government of Sindh.

“It’s really very heartening to find the media professionals taking to the sports field. I am sure they must be thoroughly enjoying the experience themselves. The smiling faces of the KPC members present here make me feel delighted and I think they are raring to go to the badminton court now after having demonstrated their skills in snooker, chess and scrabble during the past couple of weeks,” Shoaib Siddiqui remarked.

He made a special mention of former international athlete, Mohammad Talib, who attended the function on special invitation.

Rais Paracha, President, SBA, recognized the contribution of the media in the promotion of sports and he also welcomed the idea of having sports competitions between the working journalists.

Mr Saleem Paracha, Secretary, SBA, who conducted the ceremony in his usually exciting style before taking out the draws in the presence of Mr A H Khanzada, Honorary Secretary, KPC. A total of 28 entries were received for the tournament to be played on knockout basis.

Noman Khan, Babar Khan, Mohammad Saleem and Hamid Rahman were given a bye in the first round while the other participants were Kaleemuddin, Mohammad Aftab Ahmed, Ehtisham Ali, Mohammad Yasir, Abdul Qadir, Raja Kamran, Nabeel Ahmed, Waqar Khan, Mohammad Shahid, Syed Javed Iqbal, Mohammad Arshad, Jahangir Khan, Kamran Sahil, Sabir Mazhar, Qasim Khan, Afaq Mustafa, Tariq Hussain, Adeel Khan, Mohammad Ijaz, Ehsan Qureshi, Munir Aqeel Ansari, Syed Azhar Sultan, Jamal Khurshid and Ahmed Faridi.

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MSAP conduct KPC chess, scrabble events nicely

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Anwar Mooraj and Mohammad Shahid emerged champions in the chess and scrabble tournaments respectively of the ongoing Karachi Press Club’s Summer Sports Festival 2010 being supported by the Government of Sindh.

The results were compiled and released by the Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), who organized the week-long chess and scrabble event with the collaboration of KPC’s Sports Committee, very nicely indeed.

Anwar Mooraj won the chess competition by securing eight points while Mohammad Shahid took the snooker title with a spread of +55.

A total of 10 KPC members participated in the chess tournament and they played nine rounds. Azhar Javed of Chess Players Association of Pakistan (CPAP), conducted the event with Shahzad Mirza, International Master, and Muhammad Umair Kausar, Coordinator, MSAP

Anwar Mooraj stood out with eight points while the trio of Mohammad Shahid, Hasan Mansoor and Nargis Khan had six points each. Aziz Narvi and Kamran Sohail were next on the list with five points each and they were followed by Mohammad Yasir, Afaq Mustafa, Hamid-ur-Rahman and Syed Javed Iqbal.

Mohammad Shahid won the scrabble contest with a spread of +55 while Mohammad Afaq (+70) and Irshad Ali (+59) finished second and third respectively. The event was conducted by Tariq Pervez, Director, Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) and Fahim Naqvi, Vice President, PSA.

Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP, and President, Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), was chiefly responsible in making both the tournaments a success despite the lower turnout than was being anticipated.

A firm believer of professional management, Tariq Rasheed made things comfortable for the KPC Sports Committee by taking care of the entire technical side from start to finish. He posted a team of officials who were well versed in conducting such events. The intensity was not lost or even dampened by the spells of rains that also played a part in disturbing the originally chalked out schedule.

The MSAP officials did show the flexibility that was so essential in keeping the participants interested. The KPC members were allowed to incorporate changes in their schedule with the consent of their opponents in order to minimize the walkovers as the idea was to have maximum possible matches in the allotted time.

The MSAP representative, Azhar Javed, was also gracious enough to extend the chess tournament by a day to accommodate those who couldn’t make it due to an unusually long spell of rain that did cause considerable traffic jams at various locations.

So the chess tournament actually last five days instead of the originally planned four. All the participants were provided ample opportunity to demonstrate their skills on the chess board and we witnessed some interesting contests besides getting unexpected results.

The participation in the scrabble competition was even lower but it was very heartening to find Tariq Pervez handle the event very professionally without losing interest. In fact he was even prepared to coach the KPC members after they had played their matches.

The card room of the KPC, that hosted both the mind sports events, was wearing a festive look all along and one can hope for a larger pool of members participating in such contests in future.

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Shoaib Siddiqui inaugurates KPC Summer Sports Festival 2010

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It was a very pleasant evening on March 30 when Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, formally inaugurated the KPC Summer Sports Festival 2010 with a crisp stroke on the snooker table.

The festival, being organized by the Sports Committee, with the collaboration of the Indoor Games Committee, at the Karachi Press Club from June 30 to July 24, had actually commenced a couple of hours before the inauguration ceremony.

A session was held at the Ibrahim Jalees Hall of the KPC which was presided over by Shoaib Siddiqui with Tariq Rasheed Khan, President, Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), and Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), also gracing the occasion alongwith Dr Farhan Essa, Chairman, Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA).

They were presented the traditional gift of Ajrak by the office-bearers and senior members of the Karachi Press Club.

In his opening remarks, the KPC Secretary, A H Khanzada, briefly threw light on the history of the club and expressing his joy at the revival of the sports festival for the members.

The KPC President, Imtiaz Khan Faran, recognized the importance of sports in building a healthy society and he expected the members of the club to participate in the sports festival with great enthusiasm.

The chief guest of the evening, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, showered the working journalists with praise for having taking up a challenging profession and performing their duties in the most demanding of situations.

He recalled the services of the KPC members in spreading information, making a particular mention of the former Presidents Sabihuddin Ghausi and Najeeb Ahmed who expired last year.

Shoaib Siddiqui spoke about the importance of the role of media in sports in particular and he acknowledged their contribution in a big way. He welcomed the revival of the sports festival at the KPC and assured his total support to the venture.

Shoaib Siddiqui was then escorted to the snooker hall where he performed the formal inauguration of the sports festival. He was highly appreciative of the arrangements made for the various tournaments.

As many as five games, snooker, chess, scrabble, badminton and table tennis, will be contested during the festival which is being supported by the sports department of the Government of Sindh.

The festival, offering cash awards to top performers, has commenced with the snooker tournament which will continue till July 3 and it will be followed by chess and scrabble (July 5 to 10), badminton (July 12 to 17) and table tennis (July 19 to 24).

The snooker tournament is being held with the collaboration of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) who have deputed Shoaib Alam Khan, an international referee, to conduct the event.

The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) has pledged to offer technical assistance for the chess and scrabble tournaments while the Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA) has agreed to join hands with the KPC in holding the table tennis tournament.

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KPC Summer Sports Festival set to kickoff

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

All is set for the KPC Summer Sports Festival 2010 to kickoff at the Karachi Press Club on June 30 with Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, to inaugurate it in a colorful ceremony.

The festival is being organized by the Sports Committee, with the collaboration of the Indoor Games Committee, at the Karachi Press Club from June 30 to July 24.

As many as five games, snooker, chess, scrabble, badminton and table tennis, will be contested during the festival being supported by the sports department of the Government of Sindh.

The festival, offering cash awards to top performers, will commence with the snooker tournament from June 30 to July 3 to be followed by chess and scrabble (July 5 to 10), badminton (July 12 to 17) and table tennis (July 19 to 24). It will be open to the members of the KPC only and the entries will be closing two days before the start of every tournament.

The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) has volunteered to offer technical assistance for the chess and scrabble tournaments while the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) and the Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA) will be providing technical support to the competitions of snooker and table tennis respectively.

The involvement of the respective professional bodies in conducting the various events will add value to the festival besides allowing the Sports Committee to concentrate on administrative matters.

The Karachi Press Club has actually revived the tradition of holding sports tournaments for its members. The senior members of the club like S M Fazal and A Majid Khan have often been heard recalling those sports events of the yesteryears in which the members of the club used to participate very enthusiastically.

Talking about enthusiasm there is greater response already than was being anticipated from the members and the number of entries in the snooker tournament went into double digits within an hour of the announcement appearing on the club’s notice board.

The KPC President, Imtiaz Khan Faran, is thrilled by the response and the build-up for the upcoming event and he didn’t mince words in stating that the club is actually meant for such activities that could provide recreation to the members and their families.

“Yes the club should be a place where the members and their families could come over for spending time nicely. We have been trying to develop more facilities in order to serve the purpose,” he added.

Imtiaz Faran feels that the club should be having a swimming pool besides facilities for other indoor games.

The KPC Secretary, A H Khanzada, is also ecstatic with the buzz around the club created by the sports festival.

“We have provided an opportunity to our members to demonstrate their sporting prowess. By the look of things the word has already spread and there is a talk about it among the members that’s very heartening indeed,” he observed.

The KPC Sports Festival is certainly going to bring smile on the faces of the members of the club who are generally engaged in carrying out gruelling duties in the field. It's a humble effort to let them enjoy for a while away from work.

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