LAHORE: Lahore Gymkhana, which had won the previous two Alpha Aquatics inter-club swimming events in 2016 and 2017, has once again held its own for the girls event and lifted the trophy, with the runners up trophy going to Islamabad Club. K-Block swimmers from the DHA pool produced a surprise victory for the boys.
The event saw swimmers aged from eight to above 18 compete in a range of events. A great deal of new talent was spotted at the clubs. The purpose of the competition was also to promote the idea of club-level competition, with clubs providing the nursery for sports in many nations. A number of new swimmers claimed medals and best swimmer trophies, with swimmers from Chenab Club, Islamabad Club, Shapes and others proving how much potential exists. Alpha Aquatics, the hosts, did not compete for the cup but produced some superb swimming from Ayesha Piracha in the Under 10 category, Dawood Nawaz and Daniyal Nabi in the under 14 category and a host of others. Mohid Lone won best swimmer in the under 12 category for Alpha. The talent demonstrated by swimmers such as Ammani Zeeshan from Chenab Club, Maham Ali from Islamabad Club, Feroz Khawaja from K-Block, Ibrahim Rasheed from K-Block and Raaqiah Aqeel from Islamabad who won best swimmer under 8, needs to be developed. K block swimmers attributed their success to their coach Intezar, who they said was ‘dedicated, hardworking and knowledgeable.’
“We need many more competitions all through the year encouraging up and coming swimmers, so that more can move ahead in this sport and it can be expanded,” said Ghulam Murtaza, one of the organisers of the event and the coach for Alpha Aquatics.
The event, sponsored by Dasani, was also unusual in that it was designed to favour swimmers who had not yet gained recognition or won registration with units, but had the ability to do so. All best swimmer awards went to swimmers unaffiliated with any province or department. “This is an excellent format and encourages children who are sometimes scared to compete because they fear they will be beaten,” said a mother, Parveen Shoaib. Her daughter had been able to win a medal, and like other swimmers at the event is likely to go on to win more in the future. The girls event took place in the morning, while the boys competed through the afternoon.