National Games still in doubt

KARACHI: The 33rd National Games’ organisers are facing serious issues which may deprive Quetta from hosting the biennial spectacle, which it is going to hold for the fourth time.

The Games are slated to be held in Quetta from October 7-14 but so far not a single penny has been released for the purpose. A sum of Rs300 million has been demanded of the provincial government for holding the Games.

The experts who personally saw the situation on ground believe that there is a ‘fifty-fifty chance’ that Quetta would be able to hold the spectacle.“There is a fifty-fifty chance. Things are not in control,” an expert, who was part of the meeting regarding Games that was held in Quetta on Monday, told this correspondent.

It is expected that funds would be released after Eid-ul-Azha. The chief minister Sanaullah Zehri is in England, while Corps Commander has gone to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj.Hardly 40 days are left and experts say that if funds were released after Eid, it would still not be possible to prepare the venues and it might end up in poorly-conducted National Games.

The competitions in five disciplines have already been shifted from Quetta to other cities of the country due to ‘lack of facilities’ for these events in the Balochistan capital.Leading personalities of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) will once again visit Quetta after Eid to assess the situation, it was known on Tuesday.

This correspondent learnt that the POA does not want to deprive Quetta from hosting the National Games.“POA wants Quetta to host the event. But I wonder how long Balochistan will take in doing so as the Games have been postponed several times already. The last event was held in 2012 in Lahore and since then no Games have been conducted and it’s really a serious issue,” a senior POA official told ‘The News’.

‘The News’ learnt that as such no representation of the military was there in the meeting in Quetta on Monday.It was known that last year, when POA’s senior officials had held a meeting with the provincial government and Quetta military, they were very much confident about holding the Games.

It was also learnt that when a stakeholder contacted Balochistan’s Inspector General of Police on Monday regarding provision of security during the National Games, he was not aware of the progress.

Despite the uncertainty, Balochistan’s sports minister pledged on Monday that everything would be made ready in the remaining time-frame.If Quetta fails to hold the edition, it may be allotted to either Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As per rules, a provincial Olympic association organises such Games but Balochistan Olympic Association (BOA) also has some legal issues with its rival-group that has dented the entity.