PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been awarded hosting rights for two sports, judo and volleyball, at the 14th South Asian Games scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2027.
According to a notification issued by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), competitions in both sports will be held at the Qayyum Sports Complex in Peshawar.
The decision comes after strong demands from the provincial government, sports organizations, athletes and other stakeholders, who had expressed disappointment after KP was initially not allocated any events for the regional sporting competition.
It is pertinent to mention here that the sports fraternity of the province had been insisting on the part of the authorities to make KP a host province.
Following the calls, organizers allocated two sports to KP. The POA correspondence lists Peshawar as the host city for judo and volleyball, with the Qayyum Sports Complex proposed as the venue for both events.
According to the proposed plan, Islamabad will host competitions in 12 sports, Lahore in 14, while Peshawar will host two disciplines.
Islamabad is set to host athletics, badminton, basketball, billiards and snooker, football, karate, rowing, squash, table tennis, tennis, triathlon and weightlifting.
Lahore is proposed to host archery, boxing, cricket, fencing, golf, handball, hockey, kabaddi, rugby, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, wrestling and wushu.
KP Adviser for Sports and Youth Affairs Taj Muhammad Khan Tarand, former provincial sports minister Syed Aqil Shah, Olympic Secretary Zulfiqar Butt and Director General Sports KP Tashfeen Haider welcomed the decision and thanked the POA and South Asian Games organizers.
They argued that organizing two events would be a privilege for the province and also would be helpful in promoting sports along with giving an opportunity to showcase KP’s sports facilities and sportsmen at the international level.
KP provincial government also assured complete cooperation from their end in organizing the games with POA and concerned sport federations. They further said that all the arrangements for organizing the events at Qayyum Sports Complex would be made in line with international standards.
The sports community in KP also hailed this decision and termed it a good initiative on the part of the authorities and also hoped that in the future they would get opportunities to host other national and international sports events.
