Punjab to host 2012 National Games

LAHORE – The Pakistan Olympics Association on Saturday allocated the 32nd National Games to Punjab and the 4th Inter-Provincial Games to Balochistan. Both the events were allocated on rotation basis. The National Games will most probably be held after 2012 Ramazan and the Inter-provincial Games will be staged by the end of the current year. Special emphasis was laid on anti-doping policy and the federations were asked to make room for mandatory dope test while holding events.
The POA has also allotted back the vice-president’s posts of the association to hockey and boxing. The posts were lying vacant for the last couple of years for a number of reasons and now PHF president Qasim Zia and PBA chief Doda Khan Bhutto are part of the elite Olympics family as vice-presidents. The house also approved affiliation to the Pakistan Ju Jitsu Federation. Addressing a press conference here at a local hotel on Saturday, POA President Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan, who was flanked by Abdul Khaliq Khan, said that the year 2010 was full of activities both at national and international levels and under the circumstances the performance of the national athletes were satisfactory.
He also praised the staff of the POA and the arrangements of the 31st National Games despite security threats. Arif pointed out that the allocation of the 33rd National Games to Islamabad came after consensus and with the approval of the Balochistan Olympics Committee, which opted to hold the Inter-provincial Games instead. He further said that in a sense Islamabad, being a new association, would get time to settle down and start work for the organization of the games.
He further stated that a commission has been formed to coordinate with Punjab and Balochistan bodies to work out the possible dates for the holding of the Games and address other issues. He also tabled a proposal to minimize the expenses on opening and closing ceremonies and instead suggested raise in the TA/DA of players.
Arif further proposed a plan to broaden the base of the National Games by holding events at different cities and also proposed age limit for players in the Inter-provincial Games so that the federation moves to schools and colleges to bring in young players who would later represent the country in the Youth Olympics. On London Olympics, he said that hockey was the only sport from the country which has qualified for the games and the remaining disciplines would get wild card entries.
The POA chief also said that the house praised the election and nomination of Pakistan officials like Painda A Malik, Qasim Zia and Doda Khan Bhutto in international federations. Arif said that the POA was forming a commission to develop sports on modern lines and the commission would be comprised of different committees. He added that the Pakistan Sports Board was requested to bring the sports equipment locked at its vicinity for use of federations and athletes before it withers away while lying there.
“The PSB should sign an MoU with the federations to allow them the use of facilities that will surely increase the number of sports events in a year,” said he. On the disputes in the badminton and basketball bodies, he said that basketball was given one week time to sort out things and comply on the sports commission’s final verdict while badminton issue was with the court to settle.
On the POA’s budget, he said that all the money it receives from International Olympics Committee is transferred to the federations which is around Rs 13 million and the POA meets its expenses through the leased out space at its premises at Temple Road and the money coming from the saving certificates.
He further said that the IOC has announced $100,000 for flood relief and the POA has asked the federations to give details of the damage done to their facilities and athletes for rehabilitation work which would be carried out after a commission’s inquiry.