The South Asian Olympic Council’s executive council has decided to include women’s Kabbadi and football in the 11th South Asian Games to be held in Dhaka next year in January-February.
A senior official of the Pakistan Olympic Association, who attended the 40-member executive council meeting of the Council in Dhaka recently, said the meeting had approved 23 disciplines for the Games.
“The Indian Olympic body was insistent that there should be a women’s Kabbadi event in the Games while the council was unanimous about having women’s football tournament,” POA joint secretary, Abdul Khaliq said.
He said women’s Kabbadi event was included since India felt that traditional sports of the sub-continent like Kabbadi should be contested by female athletes as well.
The President of the POA, Arif Hasan who led the Pakistan delegation at the meeting also confirmed that the organizers had agreed to have a Twenty20 cricket competition in the games.
“The SAOC has written to the cricket boards of the test playing nations in Asia and some the Asian cricket Council asking them to confirm the format and teams for the Twenty20 competition,” he said.
