ISLAMABAD: Dr Fehmida Mirza, Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) and President Pakistan Sports Board, on Tuesday distributed cash awards of among medal winners of the Pakistan wushu team. The national team won 03 gold, 04 silver and 04 bronze medals at the 13 South Asian Games which were held in December in Kathmandu, Nepal last year. In line with the approved cash award policy, the gold medallists were given Rs.one million each, the silver medalists pocketed Rs.500,000/- each while the bronze medallists received cheques for Rs.250,000/-each. Maaz Khan, Sajid Hussain and Muhammad Amjad Iqbal won gold medals, Farhan Ali, Shahzab, Maira Karamat and Sundas won silver medals while Fatima, Abdul Khaliq, Saddam Hussan and Muhammad Dawood won bronze medals. The IPC Ministry and the PSB distributed a total Rs.06 million among the players. Secretary IPC Muhammad Ali Shahzada, Additional Secretary IPC Amna Imran and PSB Deputy Director Azam Dar were also present on the occasion.
Dr Fehmida congratulated the medal winners and urged the players to continue their struggle while focusing on the next edition of the South Asian Games scheduled to be held in Pakistan. She once again urged the provinces to come forward and allocate more funds for the betterment of the sports. “After the 18th amendment to the constitution; provinces are primarily responsible to deal with the subject of sports. They should also support the shining stars along with the federal government,” she added. She also directed the PSB to prepare a database of the players especially winners of the South Asian Games enabling to connect the elite players with the Prime Minister through a sports portal. “This will also facilitate the players to upload their videos on the portal to interact with dignitaries and this will also help the government to know the problems of the players.” The Pakistan Wushu Federation and its officials thanked the federal government and especially Dr Fehmida Mirza for the prize money at this critical juncture.