KARACHI: A two-member delegation of Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) will meet Sindh Sports Secretary Hafiz Abdul Hadi Bullo on Wednesday (tomorrow) to discuss with him the province’s participation in the 34th National Games slated to be held in Quetta from May 15 to 23.
The delegation will comprise SOA secretary Ahmed Ali Rajput and associate secretary Asghar Baloch.
“Yes, we will meet secretary sports on Wednesday and will also submit the budget document required for ensuring Sindh’s participation in the Games,” Rajput told ‘The News’ on Monday.
“We are working on the budget and hopefully the provincial government will support the cause as it is a very important event and for that we should prepare our contingent well,” said Rajput, who has a load of experience of working in the SOA.
He said that due to rising inflation more money will definitely be required.
“We had spent around Rs10 million for sending our contingent to the 2019 National Games held in Peshawar. This time much more money will be needed because of the inflation. There will be cost for trials, kits and handbags, etc. We will field a minimum 400-member contingent and if we give them facilities then it will need a huge amount,” Rajput said.
He said he has already instructed all the associations to kick-start their preparations for the quadrennial spectacle.
“You know Ramadan is also approaching but we will have to utilise this month also for training. You know a minimum of two-month training will be required if we are to compete with the other provinces, especially Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which prepare well,” Rajput said.
“In a couple of days, I will be writing another letter to all the associations whose squads will be featuring in the Games. We also plan to hold SOA Executive Committee meeting in a few days in which various matters relating to the Games will be discussed,” Rajput said.
He made it clear that Sindh’s contingent will feature in all the 31 regular disciplines. He said that the provincial sports associations don’t get any annual grant from the provincial government.
“Only in the era of former Sindh Sports Minster late Dr Mohammad Ali Shah associations were given annual grants,” Rajput recalled. He said that this time they will try to transport the contingent to Quetta via buses, adding they will avoid train journey this time which is too hectic for the athletes.
About the equipment Rajput said that there is some equipment with the associations but they would have to purchase some more. Rajput said that the ratio of women athletes would be high as they would compete in most of the disciplines.
In the 2019 National Games held in Peshawar, Sindh claimed two gold, nine silvers and 34 bronze medals. As per rules, Balochistan government will give daily allowances and accommodation to the participating contingents (provincial and regional) during the Games while the rest of the expenditure will be met by the respective contingents by themselves.
Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) venue committee recently visited Quetta and expressed its satisfaction about the facilities for the Games. A POA security delegation is also due in a few days. It is pertinent to mention here that the 33rd Games were allotted to Balochistan in 2012 but due to various reasons the province could not conduct them.
In 2019, the Games were then shifted to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which held them quite well. However, Balochistan was told at that time that it could go for hosting the 34th edition whenever it was ready. This time both civil and military leadership of Balochistan is keen to host the Games in May.
Balochistan on February 5 successfully hosted an exhibition cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi at the Bugti Stadium.
Alam Zeb Safi Alam Zeb Safi is a senior reporter for The News