Faisalabad Division emerged as champions of the CM Punjab Inter-Division Kabaddi Championship, defeating Sahiwal Division by 49-37 in an entertaining final at the Punjab Stadium on Wednesday night. Lahore Division secured the third position after registering a convincing 52-35 victory over Gujranwala Division in the third-place playoff.
Chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Punjab Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar was the chief guest at the grand final match. Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fazalur Rehman, Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi, Director Admin Abid Shaukat, Deputy Director Zahoor Ahmed were also present on this occasion.
A total cash prize of Rs500,000 was distributed among the top three teams at the prize distribution ceremony. Faisalabad Division received Rs200,000 as champions, Sahiwal Division earned Rs150,000 for finishing runners-up while Lahore Division collected Rs100,000 for securing third place. Faisalabad’s Shehzad was declared Best Raider, while Yahya Dogar and Adnan shared the Best Stopper (jaaphi) award.
Chairman Public Accounts Committee Punjab Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar awarded winning cash prize and trophy to Faisalabad team. Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fazalur Rehman and Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi also distributed prizes on this occasion. They later presented a commemorative souvenir to chief guest.
A large crowd of kabaddi enthusiasts attended the final at Punjab Stadium, where spectators celebrated the action with traditional bhangra performances to the beat of drums, creating a festive atmosphere throughout the event.
While talking to media, Chairman Public Accounts Committee Punjab Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar said that the Sports Board Punjab organized the CM Punjab Inter-Division Kabaddi Championship quite successfully in which 162 top kabaddi players from nine divisions across the province participated.
Chairman Public Accounts Committee Punjab Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar said that the championship reflected the vision of CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz to promote sports throughout the Punjab province. “Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar, Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fazalur Rehman, Director General Sports Punjab M Tariq Qureshi are raking effective measures for sports promotion as per vision of CM Punjab”.
Chairman Public Accounts Committee Punjab Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar said that the sports events provided healthy opportunities to young people and helped them a lot in distancing from drug abuse and other negative activities. "There is no doubt that the maximum participation of youth in sports activities play a major role in establishing a healthy society”.