Daily Times

LAHORE: Queen’s Baton Relay of the Commonwealth Games 2018 is arriving in Lahore on September 29, Friday (tomorrow). “The Queen’s Baton will arrive from Cyprus,” announced Pakistan Olympic Association President Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hasan at a press conference here on Wednesday. Also present on the occasion was POA Secretary General Muhammad Khalid Mahmood. The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 to 15. “Pakistan will welcome the Queen’s Baton Relay as it makes its way around the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth,” added Arif. He said the Queen’s Baton Relay, one of the great traditions of the Commonwealth Games, would have a four-day stay in provincial metropolis where a number of colourful programmes had been chalked out to mark its presence. “Queen’s Baton Relays have been curtain raiser to every Commonwealth Games since 1958 in Cardiff Wales,” he added. A special ceremony will be held on October 2, in which leading athletes of the country will take a round with the Queen’s Baton at Huzoori Bagh. Later in the day, a local school of the city will hold an event to commemorate its arrival in the country.

Pakistan won five medals at the 20th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010: two golds in wrestling, a silver in Greco-Roman wrestling and two bronze medals in boxing. Pakistan also won five medals at the 2006 Games in Melbourne, Australia with a gold and bronze in weightlifting and silvers in boxing, hockey and shooting. Pakistan is among the member countries of the Commonwealth Games. The baton will be taken to all member countries before reaching Australia on December 25, and then start its final journey within the country and complete it in the next four months to reach the main stadium on April 4 to be lit to inaugurate the sports gala. It had started its journey from Buckingham Palace, London, the residence of Queen Elizabeth II of the UK, in March this year. The Queen was the first baton-bearer and she had put her message into the baton, which will be read out at the time of the opening of the Games on April 4.

The baton will reach its final destination after completing a distance of 230,000 kilometres which will take around 388 days. It has to pass through five continents – Africa (18 countries), Asia (seven countries), Caribbean and America (13 countries), Europe (three) and Pacific (11). The countries, which in the past had been ruled by the British, are members of the Commonwealth Games. The POA President said the Queen’s Baton Relay in Lahore would give a positive image of Pakistan to the world. “The Queen’s Baton Relay celebrates the Commonwealth’s diversity, inspires community pride and excites people about the world-class festival of sports and culture to come. The Queen’s Baton carries a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II that calls the Commonwealth’s athletes to come together in peaceful and friendly competition. The Gold Coast 2018 Relay will be the longest and the most accessible ever, not just passing through, but spending quality time in each community it visits,” said Arif.

Highlighting the salient features of the Queen’s Baton Relay ceremony, the POA Chief said a four-member team carrying the baton would be received at Allama Iqbal Airport Lahore. “Its welcome ceremony will be held on the same day (September 29) and the baton will be handed over to me. On October 2 the baton will be brought to famous Hazuri Bagh Lahore in front of Lahore Fort for a special programme which will be attended by former Olympians and legends of Pakistan sports.” Arif said the POA was laying special emphasis on highlighting the importance of Queen’s Baton Relay among youth and that was why it had arranged events in a selected school.

Answering a question, he replied it was very difficult to predict at this stage that how many medals Pakistan was likely to win in the 21st edition of the Games. “We have not yet started our preparations for the mega event, the government has not yet earmarked any funds for the training and grooming of our sportsmen, whereas other countries in the Asia including India have allocated huge funds for the participation their contingents in the Games,” he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, September 28^th 2017.