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| January 10, 2007 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 19, 1427 |
National Games postponed on SOA’s request
KARACHI, Jan 9: The 30th National Games which were scheduled to be held in the city from Feb 11 to 17 have been postponed on the request of the hosts, president Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), Fakir Ayazuddin, disclosed on Tuesday night.
The request was put forward by the SOA to the visiting three-member POA delegation to get adequate time for making befitting arrangements for the biggest national spectacle.
The delegation comprising Col Mohammad Yayha, Khalid Mahmood and Maj. Afzal arrived here from Lahore on Sunday to oversee the arrangements.
They made a courtesy call on the Sindh Sports Minister, Qamar Mansoor, who is also chairman of the games organising committee, besides holding deliberations with the SOA president and secretary. They left for Lahore Tuesday evening.
This is the first time the games were postponed after the dates were approved by the POA.
In the meantime, the Pakistan Sports Trust (PST) has released first installment of Rs2 million to the cash starved SOA to meet expenses pertaining to hosting of the 30th National Games.
The PST had pledged to provide a sum of Rs20 million in return of getting the title sponsorship of the mega event.
This will be the seventh occasion when the games take place in the port city since the country’s independence. The previous six were held in 1948, 1970, 1976, 1980, 1988 and 1997.
The SOA president was of the view that with around 500 gold medals at stake in as many events which are due to take place at 28 venues in the week-long extravaganza, image of the city will be enhanced considerably.
He stressed the need for making affective use of at least five floodlight stadia that are available in the city of 15 million.
The camps for the provincial athletes are yet to begin as the associations are waiting for necessary grants. Similarly, lack of coordination prevails in the ranks and files of organisers which need to be solved for making the event a success.
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