LAHORE – The 1st Kashmir Solidarity Day Golf Tournament was held at the Bahria Golf Club Islamabad on February 5-6 to demonstrate the commitment of golfing community with the freedom struggle of brave Kashmiri brethren against the illegal Indian occupation.
As many as 120 men, women and junior golfers participated in this event, symbolised their physical manifestation of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement; “Pakistani hearts beat with the hearts of their Kashmiri Brethren!” Credit goes to Mrs Sheharbano Hamdani for conceiving, organising and conducting this inspiring event in such a flawless manner.
Commenting on this Tournament, Dr Asma Afzal Shami, Chairperson Ladies Golf PGF, congratulated Sherbano for her excellent conduct of the tournament. She further stated: “I would also like to appreciate the fact that, by appointing Munazza Shaheen as the chief referee, she has created history as this is the first occasion on which a lady has acted as the chief referee of a golf match in which men have also participated. Bravo Sherbano have helped in shattering the proverbial glass ceiling!”
This tournament followed an innovative form of play in which different types of teams were formed, i.e. Father-Son (in which the players hit alternate shots), Amateur Couples, Golfer-Nongolfer Couples (in which the nongolfer was restricted to putting only) and a Junior Category.
MrFarred Buttar and Hamza won 1st gross in the Father-Son category, while Mohammad Musa and Usama won 1st net. Among Amateur Couples, General and Begum Salman won 1st gross while Admiral and Begum Salim Akhtar won 1st net. In the Golfer-Nongolfer Couples Category, Mrs Rabia and Col Zaka won 1st gross while Mrs Qudsia and Col Altaf won 1st net. In the Junior Category, Shahan and Zaina Zeeshan won the 1st gross while Ali Musa and Amna Malik won 1st net.
Special praise is also due to Brig (Retd) Saeed Dar, Secretary Bahria Golf Club, who rescheduled his club’s golfing calendar to enable this tournament to commence on the official Kashmir Day, i.e. 5th February. He and his team also need to be commended for their outstanding administrative support for ensuring the success of this noble initiative.
The highpoint of the prize distribution ceremony was the recitation of a poem on Kashmir, written and recited by the chief referee Munnaza Shaheen. This brought tears to most of the eyes!
