Pink Games winners, runners-up get Rs10 million prizes

LAHORE: The 1st Chief Minister Punjab Pink Games 2024, featuring around 1200 women athletes and officials from 20 universities across the province, concluded here at the Punjab Stadium on Sunday.

Lahore College for Women University finished at the summit with 477 points while Punjab University ended as runners-up with 459 points. Lahore College for Women University claimed eight gold, three silver and one bronze. They grabbed 117 points in athletics, 80 in tapeball cricket, 100 in hockey, 150 in basketball and 30 in table tennis.

Punjab University took five gold, two silvers and one bronze. They secured 79 in athletics, 40 in archery, 80 in badminton, 100 in tapeball cricket and 80 each in hockey and table tennis. The closing ceremony was graced by the Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who gave away general trophy to the Lahore College for Women University.

“Punjab women have great talent and the provincial government will provide every kind of facilities in order to encourage women sports,” Maryam said. “I am highly pleased to witness your talent. I am convinced that all these daughters could earn name and fame for their country across the globe.

“We would provide gyms, grounds and other facilities for females so that they will not have to come to Lahore for participating in any sport activity,” she added. Maryam announced, “We are going to launch Punjab League after the Pink Games in which one million players will participate. We will extend the scope of Punjab League across Punjab.”

Meanwhile Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that this is the first step towards forming a pool of talented athletes. “We are going to engage one million youth. We are also going to establish baseball, football and basketball facilities besides rowing club,” the minister said. A handsome purse of Rs10 million was distributed among the winners and runners-up of all the seven disciplines in which the competitions were held.