PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inter-University Games ended in a grand ceremony here on Tuesday with Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) winning the overall trophy by grabbing two gold and two silver medals.

Hazara University, Mansehra, secured the second position and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, the overall third spot.

The games had been organised by the Sports Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government at the Qayyum Sports Complex where cricket, volleyball, football and badminton competitions were held at different venues in the province.

Over 3,000 male and female players of 32 public sector universities of the province participated in the events.

Hazara University grabs second position, Peshawar’s Benazir women varsity third

Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan won the two gold medals in women volleyball and male football events and two silver medals in cricket and volleyball; Hazara University, Mansehra, won a gold in women’s badminton and silver medal in men’s football and got overall second position, while Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, won the gold medal in cricket and silver in the volleyball event and grabbed the third place.

In these games, the fair play trophy was jointly awarded to the University of Chitral and Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan.

The football final was played between Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan and Hazara University that the former won by one goal in a thrilling match that remained levelled at the end of first half.

Aizaz Khan scored 10 goals for his Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan team in total three matches played in the championship and played an important role in its victory.

Assistant commissioner, Katlang, Mardan district, Kamran Khan was the special guest at the closing ceremony along with Abdul Wali Khan University chairman sports Prof Mohammad Farooq, Hazara University director sports Khalid Jalal Shah, Gomal University director sports Najamuddin, regional sports officer Niamatullah Marwat, deputy director sports operations Jamshed Baloch, Qayyum Sports Complex administrator Syed Jafar Shah, Mardan district sports officer Afzal, assistant director Ms Haya Naz and assistant director sports Irshad Khan were also present on the occasion.

The games were organised for the first time by Directorate General Sports, KP.

The female players participated in the badminton, volleyball and cricket and the male athletes in the football, volleyball and cricket competitions.

The winning team in each category was awarded Rs100,000 and the runner-up Rs50,000 with trophies and certificates.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2022