PROVINCE REPORT
PESHAWAR: The Directorate General of Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa organised a prestigious ceremony at Nishtar Hall, Peshawar, to honour 17 sporting heroes for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the promotion of sports in the province and Pakistan.
The award recipients included former squash world champions Jansher Khan and Qamar Zaman, hockey Olympian Naeem Akhtar, former provincial sports minister Syed Aqil Shah, Test cricketer Imran Khan, national hockey team player Zakaria Hayat and international taekwondo gold medallist Maimoona Baloch.
Adviser to the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sports and Youth Affairs Dr Sarfaraz Ali and Adviser on Information Samar Haroon Bilour attended the ceremony as chief guests and distributed awards among the sporting personalities.
Secretary Sports Asif Khan, Director General Sports Wasil Khan, Provincial Olympic Association President Haroon Zafar, Naimatullah, AIG Telecommunications Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Shazia Shahid, AIPS Asia Secretary Amjad Aziz Malik, Nazia Zaki and other prominent personalities were also present.
Addressing the ceremony, Dr Sarfaraz Ali congratulated the award winners and appreciated their dedication, hard work and achievements, saying they had brought pride to Pakistan at national and international levels.
He said the awards recognised the valuable contributions of sporting legends, encouraged emerging athletes and aimed to inspire the younger generation to pursue excellence in sports.
Samar Haroon Bilour appreciated the Sports Department for acknowledging the services of national sporting heroes, saying their achievements had raised Pakistan’s profile across the world. She expressed hope that such initiatives would continue to encourage athletes and recognise their contributions.
The awards were presented in three categories: Legends, Champions and Emerging Talent.
In the Legends category, former squash world champions Jansher Khan and Qamar Zaman, former provincial sports minister Syed Aqil Shah, former Mr Pakistan Shiraz Muhammad, former world number two squash player Mohibullah Khan, former hockey Olympian Naeem Akhtar and former Director Sports Rashida Ghaznavi were honoured for their remarkable services.
In the Champions category, Test cricketer Imran Khan, national hockey player Zakaria Hayat and international taekwondo gold medallist Maimoona Baloch received awards in recognition of their outstanding achievements.
The Emerging Talent category recognised national karate gold medallist Murad Khan, sailing athlete Hijab Ajmal, judoka Syed Faisal Shah, bodybuilder Shahid Khan, judoka Asifa Noor and table tennis players Usman Khan and Fahad Khawaja for their performances and potential.
