KARACHI: The Rashid Minhas Basketball tournament commenced here with an exhibition match in which Air Marshal Nur Khan XI beat Air Marshal Asghar Khan XI 49-46 in a thrilling contest here at the beautifully renovated Arambagh-Abdul Nasir courts on Friday night.

Hasan Iqbal with 15 points led the way for the winners and was well supported by Hamza Khwaja (13 points) and Hamza Perwani (11 points).

For the losing side, the main scorers were Engr Zainul Abideen (12 points) Shariq Suleman (10 points) and Hasan Ali (nine points).

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Irshad Ali Sodhar along with other sports personalities inaugurated the tournament and the renovated courts.

Sodhar, n his address, said he was keen to fulfill his promise for uplift of the historic basketball courts as Zone South is also the birth place region of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

He assured that he and his office team will continue to support sports and in the next phase, chairs for spectators and other facilities will be provided at the basketball court.

“We will also hold a girls basketball competition here very soon and will ensure that the park here is fully developed for public recreation,” said Sodhar.

Later, KBBA president Ghulam Mohammad thanked the DC for his support and also offered gratitude to PSWA head Shahida Parveen Kiani for donating an electronic scoreboard at the court.

PTF VC Khalid Shamsi and POA media coordinator Asif Azeem also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2020