Punjab crowned champions as Inter-Provincial Games end

KARACHI: Punjab emerged as champions of the first edition of Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Provincial Games which concluded at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clinched the second position, while Sindh grabbed the third.

Punjab finished at the summit with 2,641 points which they grabbed by virtue of 61 gold, 43 silver and 32 bronze medals.

KP (1,331 points) claimed 20 gold, 17 silver and 41 bronze medals. Sindh (1,285 points) captured 18 gold, 22 silver and 33 bronze medals.

They were followed by Islamabad (897 points, 3-14-25), Balochistan (799 points, 11-18-27), FATA (348 points, 4-5-23), Gilgit-Baltistan (320 points, 7-5-13) and AJK (182 points, 1-1-17).

Finance minister Ishaq Dar graced the closing ceremony. He was flanked by the federal minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada.

On Tuesday, Sindh won the overall trophy of boxing competitions with 59 points which they grabbed through three gold and two bronze medals.

Balochistan (55 points) ended as runners-up with one gold, two silver and four bronze.

Punjab (47 points) finished third with one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

As many as 45 boxers took part in the seven weight categories competitions.

In the 49kg final Shehroz Kachi of Sindh defeated Asif Ali of KP 3-0 to win gold. Shafiqullah (FATA) and Zafar Ahmed (Balochistan) captured bronze medals.

The 52kg gold went to Mohammad Zubair (KP) who defeated Eidullah (FATA) 2-1. Abdul Wali (Balochistan) and Afzal Rehman (Punjab) got bronze medals.

In the 56kg final, Mohammad Shoaib of Gilgit-Baltistan got the better of Saqib Ali of Punjab to pick gold. Faizan Butt of Sindh and Naseebullah of Balochistan clinched bronze medals.

Mohibullah (Balochistan) defeated Shehroz Khan (KP) 3-0 in the 60kg decider to get gold.

Salman Khan (GB) and Noor Mohammad (Sindh) bagged bronze medals.

Mohammad Omar (Sindh) defeated Asadullah (Balochistan) 2-1 in the 64kg final to secure gold. Adnan Ali (KP) and Umais Iqbal (Punjab) captured bronze medals.

Naqeebullah of Sindh got the 69kg gold by beating Bilal Haider of Punjab 3-0 in the final.

Usman Wazir of Gilgit-Baltistan and Safiullah of Balochistan claimed bronze medals. The 75kg gold went to Hamza Butt (Punjab) who whacked Faisal Khan (Balochistan) 3-0. Muzaffar Khan (FATA) and Afzal Khan (GB) claimed bronze medals.

Punjab also grabbed men’s and women’s athletics trophies.

In men’s singles tennis, Barkatullah of KP defeated Arham Attiq of Punjab to claim gold. The women’s singles gold went to Rida Khan of Sindh, who overpowered her teammate Hania Naveed of Sindh 6-3, 6-3.

Sindh also won women’s team event gold by beating Punjab 2-0 in the final.

In men’s volleyball, KP won gold, FATA silver and Punjab bronze.

Punjab clinched the women volleyball event gold, while Islamabad and Sindh claimed second and third positions, respectively.

Punjab secured the men’s wrestling competitions trophy by grabbing seven gold medals and one silver. KP ended second with one gold and seven bronze medals. Islamabad ended third with four silver and two bronze medals. Punjab secured men’s hockey gold, while KP and Balochistan claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Punjab also won women hockey gold by beating Islamabad in the final. Balochistan claimed bronze.

Sindh won men’s karate trophy with six silver and two bronze medals. KP and Balochistan got second and third positions, respectively. Around 1900 athletes from eight units of the country flexed their muscles in 13 disciplines.