Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza recently awarded cash prizes in the form of cheques to members of Pakistan’s Weightlifting and Tennis Team, who won medals at the 13th South Asian Games held in Nepal from December 1 – 10, 2019.
According to a press release, “In line with approved cash award policy, gold medalists were given Rs 1 million each, silver medalists got Rs 500,000 while bronze medalists received cheques of Rs 250,000 each. In total, Rs 6.250 million and Rs 5.500 million were distributed to the weightlifters and tennis players respectively.”
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Fehmida Mirza appreciated the athletes for their win and lauded parents for encouraging their daughters to take part in sport. The minister said that these winners are the ambassadors of Pakistan who portray the soft image of the country.
She added the work was being done by the Pakistan Sports Board to resolve players issues and encourage more people to come forward in the field. She added that the Federal Government would continue to support talented players.
Meanwhile, the athletes thanked the minister and government for appreciating their hard work and boosting their morale. They remarked that this is the first time that players are receiving rewards in the form of cash prize money, something that would help them in their future endeavours. The winners also requested the government to continue their support so that more people come forward in the field of sports.
Some of the winners even took to social media to thank the government for their support.
Here is a breakdown of the wins:
Weightlifting
The Weightlifting Team won 5 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals.
Weightlifters Talha Talib, Haider Ali, Usman Amjad Rathore, Hanzla Dastgir Butt and Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt won gold medals while Abu Sufyan and Rabbia Razzaq won silver medals. Saima Shahzad won a bronze medal.
Tennis
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Aqeel Khan, Muzammil Murtaza, Muhammad Abid won silver in men’s team event while Sara Mansoor, Ushna Sohail, Mahin Aftaz Qureshi and Sarah Mehboob Khan won bronze medals in the women’s team event.
In the mixed doubles event, Aisam and Wushna, and Muhammad Abid and Sara Mansoor won the bronze medals.
In the men’s double Aisam and Aqeel Khan won a bronze medal as did Muzammil Murtaza and Muhammad Abid.
Read more – Pakistani javelin thrower creates history, qualifies for 2020 Olympics
Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, who broke all records at the SAG also received an award. The 22-year-old created history with his throw of 86.29m and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
