Adnan Tairanwala Pehlwan defeated Shahid Pochar Pehlwan to win the Jashan-e-Baharan Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal at Punjab Stadium on Friday.
As many as 30 bouts were competed in the presence of thousands of wrestling fans in Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal which was held under the arrangements of Sports Board Punjab (SBP).
Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Shahid Zaman, Commissioner Lahore Ch Muhammad Ali Randhawa and Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi were the guests of honour on this occasion.
Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Shahid Zaman, Commissioner Lahore Ch Muhammad Ali Randhawa and Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi presented the winners mace to Adnan Tairanwala Pehlwan. They were also given souvenirs in the closing ceremony.
Assistant Commissioner Model Town Sahibzada Yousaf, Director Youth Affairs Syed Umair Hassan, Director Admin Ijaz Munir, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Zeeshan Ranjha, Chairman Kingdom Valley Ghulam Hussain Shahid, Divisional Sports Officer Lahore Tariq Khanzada, Deputy Director Budget and Accounts Nadeem Qaiser, Deputy Director Tariq Wattoo, Assistant Director Zahoor Ahmed, District Sports Officer Lahore Tanveer Shah and other officials were also present on this occasion.
Besides them, Pakistan Wrestling Federation Secretary Arshad Sattar, Chairman Pakistan Desi Kushti Federation Shabbir Mughal, World Champion Inam Butt, famous wrestlers including former Rustam-e-Pakistan Olympian-e-Bashir Bhola Bhala Pehlwan, Sher-e-Punjab Shahid Khoey Wala Pehlwan, international referee Farid Ali were also present on this occasion.
Sikh guests Coach Gurcharan Singh, Kalwant Singh and Santok Singh Mandhair and thousands of wrestling fans enjoyed the thrilling fights of Jashan-e-Baharan Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal.
In other major fights, Malu Pehlwan defeated Razzaq Pehlwan, Muhammad Yar Pehlwan defeated Aftab Pehlwan while the fights of Ali and Sultan Pehlwan, Sajawal Goonga and Gullu Pehlwan and Heera and Ahmed Pehlwan finished without and outright winner.
Top national wrestlers demonstrated their desi kushti skills in their respective bouts of Jashan-e-Baharan Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal. As per other results Maroof defeated Razaq, Junior Malu defeated Qamar Abbas, Ramzan defeated Asghar, Qurban defeated Akaash, Hassan Ali by Shahbaz, Zeeshan defeated
Raheel Ilyas, Wajid Dasti defeated Jalal, Bilal defeated Ghafoor, Raza defeated Current, Umair defeated Chota Khurram, Hasan defeated Shahzad, Mujahid defeated Beera, Haroon defeated Irfan, Waqas defeated Munna, Hafiz defeated Arslan, Mudassar defeated Zaheer, Billu Pehlwan defeated Hafiz Mamay wala, Khurram defeated Ramzan Kaka.
While talking to media on this occasion, Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Shahid Zaman said that Jashan-e-Baharan Dangal is organised according to the instructions of the Punjab government. “A large number of talented wrestlers took part in Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal. Desi kushti is our traditional sport and the Punjab government is taking effective measures to promote traditional sports among the young generation,” he added.
He said Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal is the first event and we are planning to host more such Dangals in the future. “The government will fully support this healthy sport. There are more than 500 sports facilities in the province”.
Commissioner Lahore Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Randhawa while talking said that Rustam-e-Punjab Dangal is a good initiative. It will promote the game of wrestling throughout Punjab. “Young wrestlers exhibited excellent wrestling skills. Sports Board Punjab has organized a good event for which I would like to congratulate them”.
Director General Sports Punjab Mohammad Tariq Qureshi on this occasion said that Sports Board Punjab is holding a major event of Jashan-e-Baharan in which Lahore Marathon, Family Race, Wheelchair Race and Tour de Lahore Cycle Race will be conducted. “Lahore Marathon is being organized as per international standards," he added and said that we are planning to hold an International Marathon next October and the Lahore Marathon could be called a full dress rehearsal of that international event. Lahore Marathon will also be included in the annual sports calendar of Sports Board Punjab”.
In response to a question, he has said that the work of laying the new astro-turf at National Hockey Stadium will be completed in two weeks time after which a hockey league will be organized on the newly-laid astro-turf.
Kingdom Valley Chairman Ghulam Hussain Shahid said that organizing Jashan-e-Baharan is a welcome sign of the Punjab government. “Pakistan is a peaceful country for the holding of international sports events”.