QUETTA: President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said the holding of the National Games in Quetta was another feather in Balochistan’s cap as it sent a message to the entire world that peace had returned to the province.

After handing over the overall trophy to winners Pakistan Army during the closing ceremony, the president added that sporting activities lead to healthy competition by promoting discipline and character building.

Army won the Games convincingly, collecting 199 golds across 32 disciplines and 398 medals overall and finishing well ahead of second-placed Wapda, whose tally of 290 overall included 109 golds.

Pakistan’s top athletes including javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem and weightlifter Nooh Butt won their respective events and while the president hailed the sporting achievements, he praised Balochistan for successfully concluding the first edition of the Games held there in 19 years.

“Balochistan is rich with natural and mineral resources and the government is working to utlilise them for the progress and prosperity of the province,” he said.

“Holding the national sporting event has shown that Balochistan is a peaceful province and this is another feather in its cap. All the stakeholders have made excellent arrangements and the athletes have shown their mettle at the event.”

He added that sports always help in “promoting mental health, character building, team work, and healthy competition at different levels”.

“The Quaid-i-Azam always encouraged young people of the country to take part in healthy activities and stressed upon imbibing the spirit of unity, faith and discipline in all walks of life,” added President Alvi.

“Our youth should have faith in their ability and talent and no power in the world can hamper their quest for success in life.”

Balochistan Governor Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar and Provincial Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Abdul Khaliq Hazara were also present on the occasion and President Alvi said that athletes of the country should be given opportunities to excel.

“As a nation, we should promote our athletes by providing them with opportunities to flourish,” he said. “It is very important for any country to have talented sportspersons.”

SCOREBOARD

Medals table

Tabulated under team, gold, silver, bronze, total:

Pakistan Army 199 133 66 398

Wapda 109 101 80 290

Pakistan Navy 28 32 49 109

Pakistan Air Force 8 24 42 74

Higher Education Commission 8 17 93 118

Sindh 4 16 23 43

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 4 6 39 49

Punjab 3 11 53 67

Pakistan Railways 3 8 25 36

Balochistan 2 18 30 50

Pakistan Police 1 2 12 15

Islamabad 0 0 7 7

Gilgit Baltistan 0 0 0 0

Azad Jammu & Kashmir 0 0 0 0

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023