Sports Bulletin Report
ISLAMABAD: As many as 60 boys and girls exhibited their class in the 2nd Ace Junior Golf League (AJGL) that was recently held at the Bahria Garden City Golf and Country Club (BGCG&C) Islamabad.
According to an official, despite predictions of heavy rainfall in the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad 60 passionate young boys and girls, aged between 5 and 18 years, ignored the weather forecast and participated with full enthusiasm in the event.
Their commendable dedication speaks volumes for the future of golf in Pakistan. Credit for infusing this spirit amongst junior golfers at the grassroots level, must be given, unreservedly, to the remarkable team comprising its founder, President Munazza Shaheen and its hands, on Patron Dr Asma Afzal Shami. Working under the patronage and support of its Patron-in-chief, Lt Gen Mian Mohammad Hilal Hussain (R), the former President of PGF, they have jointly achieved an unbelievable level of success in putting Project AJGL on such sound foundations in the short span of three months.
In the 2nd AJGL Match, junior golfers from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore participated in four age-based categories. In Girls Birdie Category (4-10 years), Zoha Zeehan won the 1st position, Aleena Khan got second and little Korean player Taehui Kang won 3rd prize. Among Birdie Boys, Zalmay Amin from Peshawar won first position followed by Abdaal Khan (2nd) and Fazeel Ahmed (3rd). The prizes to this category were given by Yasmin Mubarik, who has the distinction of winning the National Championship four times.
In Girls Eagle Category (10-14 years), the first position was secured by Ramin Amin from Peshawar, while Amna Malik and Sara Amin earned 2nd and 3rd respectively. Among Eagle Boys, Shahmir Ahmed was 1st, Musa Khan 2nd and Wajahat Anwer 3rd. Prizes to them were given by Cmdr Muhammad Ilyas, President BGCG&C. In Girls Albatross Category (14-18 years), Zarmina Khan finished 1st, Shazmina Khan 2nd and Meerab Rizwan 3rd. Among Boys Albatross, Basil Rehman won 1st, Irtaza Hussain 2nd and M Darmal 3rd position.
In addition, some relatively elder golfers, aged 18-24 years, were invited to compete in a special Elite Class, with the aim of serving as role models for the younger golfers. In this category, Arooba Ali won the 1st prize among girls while Jasia Tassawar was 2nd. Among Boys, Osama Musa was placed 1st while Mohammad Hashim won 2nd. Prizes to the two senior categories were awarded by chief guest Gen Hilal (R), Patron-in-Chief. It needs to be mentioned that Basil ur Rehman from Peshawar earned the distinction of scoring AJGL’s first ‘Hole in One’.
In his speech as chief guest, Gen Hilal (R) pointedly praised two distinct aspects of golf that had achieved a credible level of success during his tenure as President PGF. Firstly, he singled out the achievements of Dr Asma Afzal Shami, the ex-Chairperson Ladies Golf, PGF, by stating, “In a short span of four years, Dr Asma, along with her lady colleagues, changed the very stature of Ladies Golf in Pakistan, taking it from its previous ‘subsidiary category’ to the unimaginable ‘International Level’, culminating in the historic 1st PGF Ladies International Golf Championship in which seven foreign teams participated.”
“I have full faith in this partnership of Dr Shami, who has proven her mettle in Ladies Golf on the administrative side and Munazza, an IT expert and a distinction holding Referee, on the technical side. Within a few years, Inshallah, the AJGL will be producing our best golfers ready to compete at the National and International Levels!”
In their concluding remarks, Dr Shami and Munazza Shaheen, both lauded the exceptional role played by Secretary BGCG&C, Brig Saeed Dar. To quote Dr Shami, “This event could not have been held without the wholehearted support and invaluable advice that was extended by him to us. We are particularly grateful to BGCG&C for its generosity in being such a gracious, sole sponsor of this Match.”
