October 7, 2001	Sunday	Rajab 19, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: The executives of the South Asian Sports Federation (SASF) Saturday set March 30, 2002 as the new starting date of the 9th SAF Games which were postponed last month because technical delegates had refused to come due to security fears.

The delegates from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan unanimously agreed to the new dates of the Games which will now conclude on April 8.

The notable absentees in the meeting were India and Nepal, two of the seven countries that are to compete in the regional event which was originally scheduled to open Saturday.

The Pakistani officials were boosted by sporting gestures from the delegates of both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who said they would put back their own Games in 2003 and 2005 respectively if the conditions in Pakistan did not improve. “We would definitely like the 9th SAF Games to be held in Islamabad,” they were reported to have told the SGOC officials.

There were barely any deliberations on the dates as all the delegates showed flexibility, quickly agreeing to the new schedule.

The Games organising chief, Maj-Gen Syed Arif Hasan, put before the house the several aspects that had to be taken into account in settling new dates.

Among the considerations were the examinations of the school children involved in the opening ceremony that are normally held in March, Moharram (March 16 to 25) and the Pakistan Day Parade on March 23. The drills for the parade are usually done at the Pakistan Sports Complex (PSC), which will stage most of the Games events.

The regional event, the delegates were told could not be organised this year because of the holy month of Ramazan that falls in November and December.

The meeting which was chaired by the president of SASF, Wajid Ali Shah, also decided that the Games would go ahead even if any country does not show up.

Prominent among those who attended the meeting were the director general of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Brig Saulat Abbas, secretary of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Latif Butt, COS Brig Amjad Javed and directors of the organising committee.

Among the visiting delegates were Hemasiri Farnando (President of Sri Lanka NOC), Reza Latiff (representative of Sri Lanka NOC), Zafar Imam (secretary Bangladesh NOC) and DK Chhetri (secretary Bhutan NOC). The name of the Maldives delegate could not be known.

Maj-Gen Arif appreciated the gestures shown by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while Wajid Ali, who also heads the POA, thanked the delegates for coming to Islamabad.

Later, the delegates visited the venues at the PSC and praised the standard of facilities.

The PSC, besides the opening and closing ceremonies, will also host athletics, badminton, boxing, football, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis, volleyball and wrestling. The kabaddi, karate, rowing, taekwondo and weightlifting events will be held at other venues.

Meanwhile, it was agreed in the meeting that the names of the participating athletes would have to be re-submitted by the respective NOCs and the SAF Games secretariat would start operating two months before the start of the show. A skeleton staff will, however, continue to work.