Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has failed to make payments against agreed cash awards to national heroes who have won medals for the country in the South Asian Games (SAG) and SAF Games despite the lapse of four months.

This state of affairs has sparked dismay and disappointment among the SAF games medallists and they have expressed apprehensions of bein g deprived of the cash awards.

The SAG were held in India from February 5 to 16 this year. The Pakistani squad won 12 gold medals, 37 silver medals and 57 bronze medals at these games. Pakistan clenched two gold medals each in wrestling, Taekwondo and judo and one gold medal each in weight lifting, swimming, squash and hockey. The Director General PSB Akhtar Nawaz Ganjira attended the games.

An announcement was made for bestowing cash awards of Rs 1 million each to all players of the Pakistan Hockey Team for winning a gold medal in the hockey match against India.

However the PSB remained indulged in extravagant expenses in the name of the Quaid-e-Azam Inter-provincial games and awardedg their favourite federations out of the funds allocated for the welfare of players and promotion of games rather than encouraging the players and making payments of the award money announced for the players. When the players who had won the medals reminded the DG PSB repeatedly for bestowing cash awards to them then they were sent message “ See and wait”.

Sources said that the PSB was making lame excuses of paucity of funds instead of making the payment of amounts against the cash awards.

The PSB authorities took the plea that the board was lacking funds and payments would be made as soon as the funds were provided.

When contacted the DG PSB Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera kept his phone busy and gave no comment to Daily Times.