Lahore is going to see sports activities involving international players in May. The Zimbabwe cricket team is all set to play five matches -- three One-day international and two T20 -- in Lahore in its tour starting from May 20.

The Punjab Sports Board (PSB) has invited men and women athletes from 40 countries to compete in its International Sports Festival. The festival will also begin from May 20 in different cities of Punjab.

Both events can be game changers, if successfully held, to end drought of international activities in Pakistan, which stems from security concerns, especially after the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore in 2009. Zimbabwe will be the first Test playing country to visit Pakistan after the attack on Sri Lankan players.

The schedule for cricket and sports festival pose challenge for the administration as Nishter Sports Complex will be venue for most of the activities.

Though the PSB has planned some events in Multan, Rawalpindi, and Murree, a good number of events will be held in Lahore, where Zimbabwe cricket team will also be playing the series. According to reports, 1,400 athletes from 40 countries in the disciplines of handball, kabaddi (men and women), wrestling (mat), mix-martial arts, weightlifting (men and women), judo (men and women), cricket (men and women), hockey (men and women), wrestling (mud), karate (men and women), taekwondo (men and women), baseball, fistball, futsal, pentathlon, cricket physically handicapped and blind cricket are to feature in the International Sports Festival.

The PSB also set up training camps of various sports in Lahore last week to prepare its athletes for the festival. A contingent of 318 members will represent Pakistan in games.

The PSB says India will send 290 athletes, followed by 145 from Nepal, 115 Bangladesh, 110 Afghanistan, 99 Sri Lanka, 49 Iran while South Korea and Turkey are expected to field 28 athletes each. Malaysia is likely to appear with 24 athletes, while Iraq and the UAE will field 20 players each. The other countries participating in the festival are: Tajikistan, Yemen, Azerbaijan, Sudan, New Zealand, China, Jordan, Somalia and Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, UK and Romania, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Papua New Guinea, France, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, USA and Mexico.

This time, the SBP has kept Guinness Book of World Record away from the festival as it depends mostly on national sports federations of the foreign teams. It is a healthy sign as in the last three sports festivals, the federations were ignored due to Guinness Book’s involvement in the festival, which has no authority in the arena of sports. The real power of sport lies in Olympics and Asian and Commonwealth games.

The Dar Hockey Academy, Lahore, earned another distinguish when its 14 trained players represented departments in the recent National Junior Championships in Karachi.

The academy is being run by a known hockey family of Munir/Tanveer Dars. Currently, Munir’s son Tauqir Dar is the mentor of the academy. The academy was in the limelight when its player, Arslan Qadir, dominated the last Champions Trophy held in India, when he scored two, including the winner against arch-rival India to qualify for the final after 16 years.

Now its two players Arslan with his brother Faisal Qadir is also with the national team, touring Australia for a four-nation contest.

In 2012, Khalid Bhatti was the first product of the academy to win the national senior selection. Now, with 14 players in the departments for junior hockey, is not a mean achievement. Among them are: Aamir Ali, Abid Bhatti and Sikander Mustafa (National Bank of Pakistan, which is also the winner of the junior championships), Bilal Mahmood (Wapda, runner-up), Aamir Yaqoob, Ahad, Suleman and Asif (Punjab-A, fourth placed) and Waseem Akram (PIA, quarter-finalist), Usman and Shaani (Railways, quarterfinalists). It should raise the eyebrows of hockey lovers, especially the Pakistan Hockey Federation and other former Olympians, that if they work with a fighting spirit, they can produce such a good number of players.

The Punjab Olympic Association is holding the Olympic Council of Asia Administration course in Lahore in the coming week. A good number of provincial sports organisers, coaches and administrators have been invited to the course.

The course is awarded by the OCA to the Pakistan Olympic Association, which has forward it to its Punjab chapter.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2015

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