The Sports Board Punjab’s (SBP) abrupt decision to wind up the training camp for around 350 athletes who were preparing themselves to participate in more than 25 games in the 2nd Quaid-i-Azam Inter-Provincial Games has shocked many. The event was scheduled to be held in Islamabad from May 5 to 9 under the aegis of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

It is learnt that the camp was stopped after the Pakistan Sports Board decided to defer the gala just because its Director General Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera had been suspended from service by the Prime Minister Secretariat. An inquiry will be initiated against Mr Ganjera.

Questioning the postponement of the gala, sport enthusiasts and official circles say the PSB should have gone ahead with the plan because action against the head was an administrative issue and must have no bearing on the sporting activities. The postponement of the training camp means a loss of staggering amount, they say, as the athletes and officials had come from all over the province. Similar training camps were held in Sindh, Balochistan and KP besides Fata, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

In Lahore, the Sports Board Punjab picked up 350 athletes for various disciplines after holding trials in which 5,000 probables appeared. The selected athletes were eager to participate in the event after trials but they had to return disappointed when the camp was closed.

This last week, the first FMC Squash Premier League ended in Lahore. Treet Falcons (TF) won the title with a cash prize of Rs465,000. The second and third position holders were Trust Mavericks and Servis Stars and they were also honoured with cash prizes of Rs200,000 and Rs100,000 each.

Best players of each category were also announced and paid cash prizes. There were seven teams competing in the first-of-its-kind squash event in Pakistan, held at the Punjab Squash Association courts here. Every team comprised seven players; each player was representing one age category. One woman was also included in each team.

In Senior Category, Hammad Fareed was declared best player while among women, the honour went to Samar Anjum. In U-19, Salman Saleem remained the best one while in U-17 Ibtisam Riaz, U-15 (Usman Alauddin), U-13 (Khaqan Malik) and in U-11 Anas Bukhari were declared best player.

Overall, it was a great attempt to make squash popular among the youth. As the Punjab Squash Association has announced that this event will be held after every three months, hopefully best talent will come out to compete at the international level. The players will also earn money.

After a long time, the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) started a tournament after the name of Hamza Shahbaz. Six teams are participating in it with the names of Lahore Shalimar, Lahore Ravi, Lahore Eagles, Lahore Lions, Lahore Cheetas and Lahore Falcons.

The tournament should have been held under floodlights but as the LCCA ground is still waiting for the installation of the lights, the matches are being held in the scorching heat. In the last financial budget for 2016-17, the Punjab government had released Rs60 million for the floodlights project but no work is visible.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2017