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Thursday March 28, 2024

Army finish on top as National Games conclude

By Alam Zeb Safi
November 17, 2019

PESHAWAR: Army kept their invincibility intact as they lifted another Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after finishing at the summit in the 33rd National Games which concluded here at Qayyum Sports Complex with a glittering ceremony on Saturday.

This was officially the 24th time in the history of the biennial spectacle that Army were able to lift the coveted trophy.

As per official statistics, Army (7909 points) claimed 150 gold, 134 silver and 96 bronze. WAPDA (7093 points) remained runners-up by finishing with 148 gold, 99 silvers and 73 bronze. This was the best ever performance from WAPDA which showed a lot of improvement in most of the disciplines in the week-long showpiece.

Railways (1815 points) ended third by collecting 12 gold, 20 silver and 73 bronze medals. They were followed by Navy (1770 points, 21 gold, 24 silver, 22 bronze), Punjab (1622 points,1-14-34), PAF (1426 points,11-16-31), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1285 points, 2-5-34), Higher Education Commission (HEC) (1038 points, 2-11-29), Sindh (965 points, 2-9-34), Balochistan (495 points, 1-6-21), Islamabad (310 points, 0-0-9), Police (308 points, 0-2-8), Gilgit-Baltistan (174 points, 0-0-6) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (142 points, 0-0-1).

KP Governor Shah Farman announced the Games as closed at 5:32pm and handed over trophies to the leading units of the competitions.

Hosts Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were given fair-play trophy. Also present were the KP senior minister Atif Khan, Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) president Lt General (retd) Syed Arif Hasan, POA secretary Khalid Mehmood, KP Inspector General Police (IGP) Mohammad Naeem Khan and KP Olympic Association’s chief Syed Aqil Shah who spearheaded the Games.

Balochistan was supposed to host the Games but they could not do so due to various financial and security issues. The POA on March 31, 2019, shifted the Games to KP. The Games were held at various venues of Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Abbottabad, Jhelum, Islamabad and Karachi.

The 34th National Games will be held in Quetta, the POA secretary Khalid Mehmood announced during a gripping closing ceremony.

As per remaining results emerged on Saturday, WAPDA lifted men’s hockey gold after beating Army 4-3 in the final held here at the Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium. Shujee, Tasawar, Rizwan and Aleem hit goals for WAPDA, while for Army Waqas, Ali Haider and Nouman landed goals.

The bronze medal went to Punjab. Army lifted judo trophy with 238 points which they scored by virtue of 14 gold, one silver and three bronze. WAPDA finished as runners-up with 144 points which they scored through four gold, seven silver, and two bronze. Navy (82 points) finished third by lifting four silver and seven bronze medals. Railways (72 points) picked three silver and eight bronze and Punjab (39 points) accumulated three silver and one bronze. KP (28 points) got four silver, HEC, with 31 points, accumulated two silver and Sindh got eighth position with 20 points which they scored through four bronze.

In -90kg, Pakistan’s promising judoka Qaiser Khan of Army took gold, Umair of WAPDA claimed silver, while Salman of Police and Sajjad of Balochistan got bronze.

The -100kg, gold went to Tokyo-based Olympian Shah Hussain, his second gold in the event as he has already picked one in open weight. Umar of Railways claimed silver, while Rana Shuja of Railways and Abid of Police got bronze. The +100kg gold went to Afzal of Army, Maroof of WAPDA got silver, while Hamid of Navy and Abbas of Police claimed bronze.

Meanwhile, in handball event at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Mardan WAPDA lifted crown of the men’s event after beating Army in the final, while Punjab claimed bronze. The women’s handball gold also went to WAPDA after beating Army in the final. Higher Education Commission (HEC) secured bronze.

WAPDA emerged victorious in men’s karate with 175 points which they secured through lifting seven gold and two silver. Army finished as runners-up with 130 points which they got by virtue of one gold, six silver and three bronze. Balochistan ended third with 50 points which they got through one silver and two bronze. Then followed Railways (50 points, 0-0-6), HEC (40 points, 1-1-1), KP (35 points, 1-0-2), and Sindh (22 points, 0-0-2).

In men’s team kumite, WAPDA, carrying Saadi Abbas, Naseer Ahmed, Mohammad Awais, Mohammad Kashif, Baaz Mohammad and Shebaz Khan, got gold, Balochistan, featuring Abdul Aziz, Shamuddin, Hidayatullah, Azeem, Imran Jamal and Asmatullah, claimed silver, while Army, featuring Dawood Ahmed, Faheem Haider, Abu Zar, Mohammad Qurban, Mohammad Laftan, Adnan Ahmed and Mohammad Usama, and Railways, carrying Humayun, Mubarak, Adeel Afzal, Mirza Arsalan, Gulraiz and Jamshed, picked bronze.

In karate men’s section, WAPDA (175 points) topped the list by claiming seven silver and two bronze medals. Army ended as runners-up with 130 points which they scored by lifting one gold, six silver and three bronze medals. Balochistan finished third with 50 points which they picked through one silver and two bronze. Railways followed with 50 points, claiming six bronze. Higher Education Commission (HEC), with 40 points, got one gold, one silver and one bronze. KP, with 35 points, picked one gold and two bronze, while Sindh with 22 points clinched two bronze.

In women’s team kumite, WAPDA, featuring Kulsoom, Nargis, Beenish and Fakhrunnisa, got gold, Army, carrying Sana Kausar, Radia Parveen, Hina Khan, Naila Kausar, Anoosh Khan, got silver, while HEC, carrying Ayesha Amjad, Fizza Samad, Iqra Anwar, Mahnoor, Shaista and Balochistan, featuring Latifa, Mahira, Shakira, Hadia and Fatima, claimed bronze each.

Points Table

Units Gold Silver Bronze Points

Army 150 134 96 7909

WAPDA 148 99 73 7093

Railways 12 20 73 1815

Navy 21 24 22 1770

Punjab 1 14 34 1622

PAF 11 16 31 1426

KP 2 5 34 1285

HEC 2 11 29 1038

Sindh 2 9 34 965

Balochistan 1 6 21 495

Islamabad 0 0 9 310

Police 0 2 8 308

GB 0 0 6 174

AJK 0 0 1 142