LAHORE: The athletics management committee, which has been constituted by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to organise the athletics events during the 34th National Games, held a crucial meeting here at the Olympic House on Saturday to discuss various matters relating to the most pressing task.
The committee has been constituted for organising the event of the biennial spectacle as the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) is not recognised by the POA.
According to insiders discussion was made on coordination, conduct of the event and various other related matters in order to ensure proper staging of the Games’ most vital event.
The committee’s chairman Mohammad Shafiq supervised the meeting. Of the 14-member committee two members including Abdul Nabi from Balochistan and Ghufran Hussain from Punjab did not attend the meeting. Those physically present were Mohammad Shafiq (chairman), Shabana Akhtar (WAPDA), Mohammad Sajid (WAPDA), Abida Changaiz (Railways), Sumaira Sattar (HEC), Major (retd) Mehmood Riaz (POA), Ehtasham-ul-Haq (POA) and Lt Col Nabeel Ahmed Rana (Army). Bahre Karam Khan (Deputy Chairman, HEC), former international athlete Sadaf Siddiqui (Army), Jaffar Shah (KP) and Mohammad Aslam (Sindh) attended the meeting on zoom.
The committee will work under the guidance of the POA and the management committee of the 34th National Games. It will coordinate with all concerned formations for making befitting arrangements for the conduct of the athletics competitions of the Games including preparation of the athletics track, equipment and technical officials.
Similarly management committees at the provincial level have also been constituted whose tasks would be to hold trials, make selection, ensure training and subsequent participation of their respective provincial athletics teams in the 34th National Games in consultation with the chairman of the athletics management committee Mohammad Shafiq.
Sohail Ahmed is the convener of the Balochistan committee which also carries its secretary Abdul Nabi and members Adeel Afzal Awan, Younis Durrani and Ms Akhtar.
The KP committee is headed by Zulfiaqr Ali Butt as convener, Bahre Karam Khan is its secretary while Jaffar Shah, Mohammad Shah and Fatima Sakhi are its members. Idrees Khwaja, secretary of the Punjab Olympic Association, is the convener of the Punjab committee which also carries Ghufran Ahmed (secretary) while Humaira Kamran, Asghar Ali and Abdul Ghaffar Gujjar are its members.
Ahmed Ali Rajput, secretary of Sindh Olympic Association, is the convener of the Sindh committee which also contains Mohammad Aslam (secretary) while Shabbir Ahmed Chandio, Major (retd) Mehmood Riaz and Narmina Ali are its members.
A source in the athletics management committee told ‘The News’ that athletics is the mother of the Games and every effort will be made to ensure the competitions are held in the most befitting way.
“We have skilled people in the committee and we discussed some vital matters today in the meeting and we are confident to conduct the athletics event in the most appropriate way,” the source said.
The athletics event will be held at the Ayub Stadium Quetta from May 24-29.
As many as 500 athletes will be showcasing their talent in 43 events of men and women. Army are a top seed in the event, having won almost every trophy due to their excellence in the men’s section where they always stand first. WAPDA are smart in the women’s section but overall on aggregate (medals in both men’s and women’s section) Army always remain victorious.
In order to give final touches to the preparation the athletics management committee key members are expected to move to Quetta on May 11. This correspondent has learnt that Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is providing equipment for the athletics event which will be transported from Islamabad to Quetta by May 19.
Sports Board Punjab (SBP) is providing electronic machine. “We are planning to transport the equipment from Islamabad to Quetta in time. It’s a big issue. Had provinces got their own equipment it could have made the things easier for the organisers,” a source said.
This correspondent has also learnt that Army will field 78 athletes in the athletics competitions.