ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza on Monday distributed cash awards among national junior players for winning medals at international competitions staged during the last two years.

Pakistan’s junior players during the past couple of years have shown brilliant performance at international level, winning a total of 75 medals.

In an effort to encourage them, the IPC minister on Monday distributed cash awards among the 25 best juniors while four senior players — Farhan Zaman, Asim Khan, Tayab Aslam and Hammad Farid — were also given cash prizes for winning silver medal at the Asian Team Championship staged in Korea last year.

Promising junior player Mohammad Hamza Khan was on the top of the award list for winning 14 medals (7 gold, 4 sliver and 3 bronze) during the last two years. Hamza was followed by Haris Qasim and Abbas Zeb. Around a total of Rs10 million were distributed among the players, sources said.

Speaking at the award ceremony at the Mushaf Squash Complex, De Fehmida hailed the performance of the junior players and the Pakistan Squash Federation, the game’s governing body in the country. “The PSF has been providing the best facilities to players, a step which is yielding good results,” she noted.

PSF senior vice-president Air Marshal Shahid Akhtar Alvi and secretary Tahir Sultan were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2019