Lahore Division, with 92 points, clinches SBP Talent Hunt Programme U-16 Inter-Division Mat Wrestling title

Lahore Division mat wrestling team, with 92 points, won the SBP Talent Hunt Programme U-16 Inter-Division Mat Wrestling title at Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium Hall on Saturday.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony. He also witnessed the thrilling fights and appreciated the wrestling skills of young pugilists. Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail and Vice president Wrestling Federation Arshad Sattar distributed prizes among the top position holders.
Deputy Director Zahoor Ahmed, Vice president Wrestling Federation Arshad Sattar, Divisional Sports Officer Lahore Rana Nadeem Anjum, Administrator NPSC Gymnasium Hall Mustfa Shah, Nadeem Pehlwan, Mehr Akram Pehlwan, wrestling coach Farid and other officials were also present on this occasion.
Talking to media, Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail congratulated the Lahore Division mat wrestling team for winning the SBP Talent Hunt Programme U-16 Inter-Division Mat Wrestling crown. He also lauded the performance of the rest of the participating divisional teams.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail said that top performers of SBP Talent Hunt Programme U-16 Inter-Division Championship will be given scholarships and training from foreign coaches. “These sports events are being organized under our 2-year Annual Sports Calendar which has been prepared after consulting all the stakeholders including the provincial sports association”.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail said that the participation of a large number of young wrestlers is a good omen for the future of this game in the province. “This event will help a lot in finding several fresh talented players,” he added.
It may be noted here that 6-day Under-16 Inter-Division Hockey and Matt Wrestling Championship is being organized as part of Sports Board Punjab’s 2-year Annual Sports Calendar till October 31, 2023.
Gujranwala with 58 points secured second position while third position went to Faisalabad division which scored 54 points. The points of remaining divisions are as under: DG Khan 52 points, Sahiwal 34, Multan 30, Sargodha 28, Bahawalpur 26 and Rawalpindi six points.
In SBP Talent Hunt Programme U-16 Inter-Division Hockey Championship, Lahore division girls’ hockey team defeated DG Khan by 7-4 on penalty shootout at Mini National Hockey Stadium on Saturday. Before the penalty shootout, both the teams had scored three goals each in the stipulated time.
Lahore’s Uswa netted two goals while skipper Amina Bibi contributed one goal in the regular time. On the other hand, DG Khan girls also demonstrated wonderful hockey in a well contested encounter scoring three goals through skipper Saima Hameed, Mahnoor and Maryam Abbas in the allotted time.
Earlier, the third day of SBP Talent Hunt Programme U-16 Inter-Division Hockey Championship began with a dominating performance from Bahawalpur girls who outplayed the Multan division by a big margin of 7-0.
Bahawalpur skipper Sobia Afzal led her team from the front with a magnificent performance. She struck four impressive field goals in 4th, 6th, 18th and 28th minute of the match. Aqsa Iqbal and Javeria Raheem converted one penalty corner each while Fiza Khan netted another field goal to complete the overwhelming victory for her team. Multan girls toiled all the time but failed to score a single goal during the entire match.
In the second match of the day, Faisalabad girls recovered from a 2-goal deficit and went on to win by 6-2 against the Rawalpindi team. The Rawalpindi team took a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes through skipper Shireen Fatima who scored a field goal in the first minute and then converted a penalty corner three minutes later.
The captain of Faisalabad team Shanza Murad and Sana Khalid led the fight back mission with two goals apiece while the remaining two goals were scored by Uswa Asghar and Dua Arshad