INFRASTRUCTURE: THE YMCA COMEBACK
Jan 18 was a memorable day for Karachi’s sportspersons as — following orders of the Supreme Court — sporting activities at the Young Man’s Christian Association (YMCA) were revived after a lapse of 16 years. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has done a remarkable service to the Sindh capital. The government could not do so because the YMCA falls in the (security) Red Zone and is located opposite Governor’s House. The athletes, including women, particularly those residing in District South, are grateful to the Supreme Court for the decision.
The sprawling ground of the YMCA was encroached upon in 2003 after one of the two warring factions of the institution took over its control and allowed wedding ceremonies to take place here, breaking all rules and regulations. The same Supreme Court verdict also disallowed weddings from taking place at the close-by Sir Abdullah Haroon Muslim Gymkhana, which in the past had served as a venue for cricket matches and housed the Karachi Cricket Association (KCA) office.
Thousands of sportspersons who used to turn up every afternoon for practice have suffered a lot due to the closure of sporting facilities at the YMCA, Muslim Gymkhana, the Railway Ground and Police Ground on Garden Road in the last 15 to 20 years. All these grounds are located in close proximity of each other, within a two-kilometre radius.
After the historic verdict given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, sporting activities at Karachi’s Saddar grounds have been revived. They have a long history of grooming athletes
I am a witness to the good old days of the YMCA. As a young athlete I was awarded my first certificate at an inter-school meet there in 1968.
George W. Das held the post of general secretary of YMCA Karachi for many years. His team, among others, included Wilburn Bede and the ever-smiling Zafar J. Shakti, who both subsequently rose to the position of general secretary. Unfortunately, Shakti, the last person from that era, died after a protracted illness last year.
Sadiq Wahabuddin and Riaz Ahmed have diligently served as Chairmen Sports Committee of the YMCA for years. According to official records, the YMCA — situated in the heart of the city at Ram Bagh Quarters on 36,955 sq yds — was given the rights for holding sport activities in 1913. After the country’s independence, the YMCA served as one of the main sporting centres in the metropolis for over five decades, before the activities were suspended by people who had vested interests.
The youth of that era were lucky to get easy access to the ground for daily workouts under reputed honorary coaches who groomed them into stars. There used to be several competitions, including the annual inter-school meet, in different disciplines, under the aegis of the Directorate of School Education and witnessed some fierce competitions.
Directors of Physical Education (DPE) of several city colleges, such as the D.J. Science College, the National College, the Government Commerce College, the S.M. Science and Arts Colleges and Premier College, used to visit the YMCA frequently in order to spot outstanding sporting talent and offer freeship to those seeking first-year admissions.
The same exercise would be repeated when the athletes passed their intermediate examinations and sought admissions to NED and the University of Karachi on the sports quota.