Islamabad to host tennis, rowing events of SA Games

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) General Council meeting in Lahore has given a go-ahead to hold tennis and rowing events of the 14th South Asian Games in Islamabad in March 2023.

POA president Lt Gen (r) Arif Hasan told ‘The News’ Sunday that tennis and rowing will be allotted to Islamabad.

“We have decided in principle to hold two of the games in Islamabad. Tennis and rowing have good facilities in the capital city and that is why we have decided to hold these events in Islamabad.”

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) had recently requested for the Games event to be conducted in Islamabad. The POA has accepted the proposal.

Lahore will be the center point of all the Games where the opening, closing ceremonies and all other major events will be staged. This will be the first time that the SA Games would go out of Islamabad that has earlier hosted the Games in 1989 and in 2004.

“There are two reasons for allotting tennis to Islamabad. Firstly, the city has got the best available tennis infrastructure and secondly the PTF feels that Pakistan has better chances of winning medals at grass courts that the PTF will establish before the start of the event. The Pakistan Sports Complex has already got grass courts where the Davis Cup tie against Japan will be held within the three-week time,” the POA president said.

Arif suggested the PTF to organise the Games’ tennis event under floodlights. “This act will add flavor to the event as well as it is very important for modern day sports.”