The oldest sports complex in the garrison city continues to attract people interested in recreational activities and sports, despite little attention from the provincial government.

Located in Liaquat Bagh near the Municipal Library, the sports complex is the oldest of three such establishments in Rawalpindi. It used to a centre for district and divisional level sporting activities, but these have petered out with time and neglect by the authorities.

The Liaquat Bagh sports complex was built according to international standards in 1984. It was handed over to the district sports department four years later, and the Punjab government has been responsible for its affairs since.

In 2010, the PPP government renovated the complex’s squash courts and renamed it the Benazir Bhutto Squash Complex. The courts were renovated again by the PML-N government in Punjab in 2013, and the name was changed once more.

The complex has a variety of indoor and outdoor facilities, including a stadium, arena, sports venue, gym and physical fitness centre. It offers badminton, table tennis, karate, archery, boxing and squash facilities on its premises as well.

Once a popular facility, the complex still has the capacity to meet the requirements of city residents who want a place to walk, play sports and interact with each other.

But the provincial government in charge of the complex has not given attention to the low fees charged at the facility and has failed to utilise the complex itself, prioritising the sports complex on Double Road instead.

“The complex is well equipped and legendy squash players like Jehangir Khan and Jan Sher Khan played on these courts. The sports complex hosts several national and local tournaments,” District Officer Sports Shams Tauheed Abbasi said.

He added that around 100 to 150 students visit the complex every day for squash, table tennis and badminton coaching, while another 100 or so come for karate and use the gym. He said the complex also has archery for visually impaired athletes.

“The tennis courts are the best in the twin cities,” he added.

He said Liaquat Bagh is the only complex that hosts table tennis matches, while its gym is well maintained and caters to women as well.

The sports department has sent a PC-I to renovate the complex’s old structure, which will likely be approved at the next cabinet meeting, Mr Abbasi added.

“We plan to construct a hostel for athletes who come from other cities for tournaments at the district and divisional level,” he said.

“In the past, local civic bodies spent money on recreational activities. But today civic bodies allocate 2pc of their development budget for sports facilities,” Mohammad Akram, a local athlete at the complex, said.

He said that the infrastructure exists, but needs to be patronised by the government, suggesting that city events be held at the complex to revive healthy activities.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2019