Snowboarding Festival in Malam Jabba: Pakistan, Afghanistan players clinch top positions

MINGORA: Pakistan and Afghanistan’s players clinched top three positions in the men’s giant slalom and parallel giant slalom competitions as Pakistan International Snowboarding Championship and Festival concluded at the Malam Jabba ski resort in the scenic Swat valley on Sunday.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KP-CTA) under the auspices of Tourism, Sports, Archaeology, Culture, Museums and Youth Affairs Department and the Samson Group of Companies had jointly organised the event.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Senator Faisal Javed was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony, who gave away prizes and trophies to the winners. Officials of the Tourism Department and the Samson Group of Companies were present on the occasion as well.

Over 44 national and international players, including eight women players and enthusiasts of snowboarding games from European countries, Belgium, France Afghanistan and Pakistan participated in the event.

Pakistan’s Fatima Nadeem, Sara Nadeem and Ayesha Akmal clinched first, second and third positions, respectively, in the women’s giant slalom competitions.A total of eight women participated on the last in the event. Of them, three were from Afghanistan.

Similarly, Victor Rogger from Belgium and his countrymen Julian and Harry grabbed first, second and third positions, respectively, in the men’s giant slalom competitions.Pakistan’s Razaullah won Gold medal while Afghanistan’s Ahmad Sarosh received Silver medal and Pakistan’s Wakil Ahmad clinched a Bronze medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom competitions.

In the women’s parallel giant slalom competitions, Pakistan’s Sara Nadeem won a Gold medal, Fatima Nadeem Silver medal while Ayesha Akmal grabbed Bronze medal.The foreign and local tourists and visitors, who had thronged the serene resort, enjoyed the games and music on the white snow during the three-day gala in Malam Jabba.

The men and women’s giant slalom and parallel giant slalom thrilling competitions mesmerized the tourists and visitors when the players exhibited their skills on the white snow at the Malam Jabba ski resort.

The foreign tourists praised the beauty of Pakistan, particularly the Swat valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They said that Swat was a stunning valley with enormous beauty and sereneness on its mountain and plains.Besides snowboarding game, traditional foods and music festival is also part of the gala to entertain the tourists and visitors.

Music programme was also organized in the evening to entertain tourists and players.The championship was aimed at bringing the serene spots, including Malam Jabba, Madyan, Bahrain and elsewhere in the valley, back to life and attracting tourists to these destinations.Malam Jabba is the only civil skiing resort in Pakistan located at about 8,500 feet above the sea level.