LAHORE: In order to encourage and honour its hockey squad on winning the 66th National Hockey Championship, a prize distribution ceremony was held at WAPDA House, under the aegis of WAPDA Sports Board (WSB), here on Monday. WAPDA Chairman and WSB Patron-in-Chief Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain was the chief guest of the ceremony, who presented cash awards worth Rs. one million to the players and team management. WAPDA Member (Finance), Member (Power), Member (Water), MD (Admn), WSB President, Secretary WAPDA and WSB senior officers were also present on the occasion. With the emphatic win in the 66th National Hockey Championship, WAPDA now holds the rare honour of being Men, Women and Junior National Champions simultaneously.
Addressing the prize distribution ceremony, the WAPDA Chairman congratulated the hockey team on their brilliant performance in the recently concluded National Championship, as WAPDA managed to win the men’s title after nine years. He said that WAPDA, as an organisation, had been promoting sports in Pakistan by providing facilities to its players and taking measures for their wellbeing. Highlighting the significance of sports, he said that lessons for struggle in life can best be learnt from sports. “Sport is a virtue, essential for any country, organization or individual to overcome challenges. Together with enthusiasm and commitment, we can excel in all walks of life including sports,” he concluded.
It is worth mentioning that WAPDA has been playing a phenomenal role for promotion of sports in Pakistan for the last 60 years. WAPDA players have not only been showing their class at the national level but also bringing laurels to Pakistan in international competitions.
At present, WAPDA is winner in 35 disciplines (men-19, women-16), and runner-up in 19 games (men-12, women-7). WAPDA is the biggest employer of sportspersons in Pakistan, as more than 2200 players and sports officials are associated with various units of WSB across the country. WAPDA has 66 teams – 37 men and 29 women – of different games.