LAHORE – Parkha Ijaz won the 1st Ghazala Ansari Challenge Cup Ladies Amateur Golf Championship that culminated with a most graceful prize distribution ceremony held in the Durbar Hall of the Governor’s House on Sunday.
Parkha, handicap 1, with a gross score of 227 over 54 holes, emerged as the winner of the Gross Section in Category A (handicaps 0-12). Her sister, Rimsha Ijaz, who is also handicap 1, was the runner-up with a gross score of 231, while Iman Ali Shah got 3rd position with a score of 244.
In Category B (handicaps 13-24), Tehmina Ahmed won 1st gross, while Dr Rhubab Haider got 2nd and Tehmina Rashid 3rd gross. In the Net Section, Sherbano Hamdani won the 1st prize, while 2nd Net was awarded to Shabana Waheed and 3rd to Hareem Tahir.
In Category C (handicaps 25-36), the 1st gross was won by Fauzia Shahid, 2nd by Nighat Akram and 3rd by Monazza Azhar. In the Net Section, Mina Zainab won 1st net, Tasleem Hussain 2nd and Shaheen Warraich 3rd. In the Seniors Match, 1st gross was won by Ayesha Hamid while 1st net by Farida Tausif.
This was an unprecented occurrence that came about due to the desire of Begum Perveen Sarwar to demonstrate her personal support for Dr Asma Shami’s unique initiative of honouring the achievements of lady golfing icons of yesteryears. While praising this concept in general and the golfing exploits of the legendary Ghazala Ansari in particular, she lavished well-deserved praise on Dr Shami and her team for conceiving, planning, organising and executing this championship in such a professional manner.
She went on to state that, “Their performance has certainly brought a breath of fresh air into our sporting environment and proved that Pakistani women are second to none.” The high points of the ceremony were video clips about Ghazala Ansari’s achievements and a personal message from Begum Samina Alvi, The First Lady, who expressed great admiration for the fact that this had been a totally ‘women’s show,’ right from its conception to its organisation, planning and execution.
She lauded that even the Chief Referee and the sole financial sponsor were women. Two other video messages were also played containing personal messages from Gen Hilal, President PGF and Yasmin Mubarik, who had been her closest competitor.
There could be no greater tribute to the golfing achievements of the legendary Ghazala Ansari. Credit for this must be given unequivocally to Dr Shami and her dedicated partners, Maimoona Azam, Bela Azam, Munazza Shaheen, Iffat Zahra, Aisha Moazzam, Shabana Waheed and Shahnaz Moeen who put their heart and soul into “making this event one of a kind.”
The most striking feature of this rather unique golf tournament, was the ambience of Ghazala Ansari’s presence that prevailed throughout the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Club on all three days. Equally evident was the unbounded euphoria and air of festivity that became the hallmark of this event.
