KARACHI: Sukkur division won the first inter-division kodi kodi tournament here at the Sindh Sports Board (SSB) indoor hall in front of a sizeable crowd on Sunday.

Six divisonal teams from across Sindh — Karachi, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad — participated in the two-day tournament organised by SSB and Sindh Department of Sports and Youth Affairs.

Provincial Sports Minister Sardar Baksh Khan Mehr was the chief guest on the occasion and distributed winner’s purse of Rs500,000 and the trophy to Sukkur while runner-up Larkana received Rs300,000 and the trophy.

Later, in his speech, the sports minister appreciated the staging of the first ever indoor kodi kodi event and expressed delight at the high standard of contests.

“Pakistan is the Asian champions in kodi kodi while many nations are now taking up the sport at international level,” he said.

“This is the first time that an indoor kodi kodi event was held. We are committed to promote traditional sports of Sindh and many more such events will continue to take place across the province.

“Honourable CM Murad Ali Shah, who is himself a big fan of sports, is very keen to see the province on top in sports activities and has vowed to give full support,” said Sardar Mehr.

Sindh Sports Secretary Salim Raza disclosed that his department will be organising malakhra events across the province next month while many sports events will also be staged on Pakistan’s Independence Day on Aug 14.

Also present on the occasionwere Director SSB Shehzad Pervaiz Bhatti, sports consultant Musheer Rabbani and NBP sports organiser Ghulam Mohammad.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2017