Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar, while addressing a crowded press conference at the National Hockey Stadium on Tuesday, has announced that Punjab Sports Department is going to organise several mega sports events in the coming months in line with the vision of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz.
Flanked by Secretary Sports Punjab Muhammad Ali, Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi and SBP Vice-Chairman Suleman Malik, Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that Punjab Sports Department, as per its revolutionary Annual Sports Calendar, will organize mega sports event every month. “We are going to organize CM Punjab Inter-School Swimming Championship at the State-of-the-Art Swimming Complex at Nishtar Park Sports Complex on April 15 and 16 in which more than 400 male and female students from different schools will participate”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar informed that there will be 80 swimming events for girls and 30 events for boys in the CM Punjab Inter-School Swimming Championship. “Cash prizes worth Rs 10 lakh, medals and trophies will be given to the best swimmers of each age group in the CM Punjab Swimming Championship. ‘Rustam-e-Punjab’ and ‘Rustam-e-Pakistan’ competitions will also be held.”
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar further said that CM Punjab National Marathon and Cycling Championship will be held on April 19 (Sunday) in which around more than 7,000 men and women have been registered so far, while prizes worth more than Rs 40 lakh will be distributed. “The 21-km Marathon will start from Liberty Chowk at 6.00 am in which professional athletes will participate. Apart from this, 1-km Wheelchair Race for special persons, 5-km Race for female professional athletes and 2-km Fun Race for Families will also be organized to involve people of all age groups in healthy activities”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar further said that Punjab Sports Department is introducing the Annual Sports Calendar for the first time, under which sports competitions will be organized at the grass-root level in each division. “As per Annual Sports Calendar, kabaddi event will be organised in April, athletics in May, badminton and tug-of-war in June, hockey in July, football in August, karate, taekwondo and wrestling in September and October, volleyball and marathon in November and cricket event will be conducted in December. Pak-China Games will also be organized in May”.
Revealing another historic measure, Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that decision has been taken to establish a University of Sports Sciences in Punjab and its initial courses have been launched at Institute of Sports Sciences Punjab (ISSP). “Sports grounds will be established in 1,000 schools under the ‘Khailtay School’ project. This project will help a lot in promoting sports at the school level”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar further said that an exclusive Youth Digital Channel is being launched soon, through which interviews with talented athletes, podcasts and talks from leading sports figures will be presented to inspire and guide the youth. “Punjab is going to become the first province of the country which will conduct the income audit of all of its divisions, districts and headquarters”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar informed that a control room is being established for the first time in the history of Punjab through which all sports complexes, gymnasiums and grounds of province will be monitored through cameras. “Separate facilities, coaching programs and safe sports environment are also being ensured for female athletes”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar stated that Sports Board Punjab is going to establish country's first world-class Sports Medical Center, where injuries rehabilitation and other facilities will be available for athletes. “In order to develop world-class sports in Punjab, 100 out of 650 sports facilities are being outsourced under Private-Public Partnership so that more sports events could be organized and the players can get world-class facilities”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar added that Rs 70 crore were provided for the modern Squash Complex. “A strict accountability system is being implemented in the Punjab Sports Department. “The performance of officers will be evaluated through Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Besides this, a decision has also been taken to make all systems online will ensure transparency.”