Punjab continued its momentum at the 2024 Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Provincial Games, scheduled to conclude tomorrow (Thursday), as it bagged more gold medals in various sports.
Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Rana Sanaullah will be the chief guest for the closing ceremony of the event, which will begin at 1:30 pm on Thursday (today).
Meanwhile, the athletics competitions at the Quaid-e-Azam Games culminated today in an outstanding performance by athletes, in the men’s and women’s competitions, at various venues at the Pakistan Sports Complex.
In the men’s category, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emerged as the first unit, bagging a total of 12 medals (5 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze). Punjab came in second place with 11 medals (5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze).
Balochistan, Sindh, Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir also participated, contributing to the total medal tally of 33 across the events.
In the 100 metres, Muhammad Hasnain of Punjab clinched the gold medal with a time of 11.10 seconds, followed by Atalullah of KPK who bagged the silver medal. Hassanein continued his winning streak, taking first place again with a time of 22.52 seconds in the 200 metres.
In the 400 metres, Ataullah of KPK won the gold medal, recording a time of 50.46 seconds. Akram from Punjab won the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:05.63.
In the 4 x 100m relay, the Punjab team, comprising Ghulam Mortaza and Muhammad Hasnain, clinched the gold medal with a time of 42.90 seconds. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa athletes also excelled in the field events, with Bilal winning the javelin and Wasiullah taking gold in the discus.
In the women’s competition, Al Sindh showed its dominance, winning 7 medals (4 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze). Punjab came in second place with 10 medals (3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze). Overall, the women’s competition won a total of 27 medals.
In the 100 metres, Iqra Riaz from Sindh won with a time of 13.07 seconds. She continued to shine and won another gold in the 200 meters race with a time of 26.63 seconds. In the high jump, Anaya Ehsan from Sindh won the gold medal, achieving a height of 1.43 metres.
The Sindh team, consisting of Iqra, Anaya, Aleena and Rania, won the gold medal in the 4 x 100 meters relay with a time of 54.87 seconds.
Kabaddi
The men’s kabaddi (Asian style) matches kicked off with outstanding performances at the Amir Khan Boxing Hall. Punjab and KB emerged as the dominant teams, registering wins in their respective matches.
The day started with Match No. 7, where Punjab registered a landslide victory over Islamabad.
In Match 8, Sindh showed great teamwork and strategy to defeat Gilgit-Baltistan 72-58, in a high-energy encounter that kept the crowd engaged throughout.
KB showed their superiority in Match No. 9, defeating Azad Jammu and Kashmir with a thumping 80-27 victory. Their leadership performance reflects their tactical precision and sportsmanship.
Match No. 10 saw KB continue their winning streak, defeating Sindh 40-24 in a well-contested match. KP’s agility and solid defense played an integral role in their successive wins.
In the last match of the day, Punjab showed their kabaddi skills, thrashing Balochistan 55-11.
Judo players
Meanwhile, the judo competition brought exciting action at the Amir Khan Boxing Hall as athletes from Punjab and Balochistan dominated the men’s and women’s events. Both provinces received many gold medals, demonstrating their prowess in martial arts.
In the men’s category, Balochistan emerged as a strong force, bagging three gold medals in the 50kg, 5kg and 60kg weight categories through brilliant performances by Maqsood Ahmad, Khan Noor and Mati Ullah, respectively.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also showed exceptional talent, with Huzaifa taking gold in the 66kg category and Abdul Rahman winning the open weight category. Muhammad Muaz bin Mahmood from Sindh won the gold medal in the 73kg category, completing the men’s champion.
The women’s competition saw Punjab assert its dominance with three gold medals. Syeda Javiria (40kg), Hafza Iftikhar (52kg) and Aima Adnan (63kg) led the attack on their province. KP’s Asfa Noor (48kg) and Amna (57kg) added two gold medals to their unit, while Saima from Balochistan bagged the gold in the women’s open category.
– With additional input from the application