ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation (PTBF) is striving hard to make this particular sports famous in the country by holding different championships at different venues from the last couple of years, said Ijaz-ur Rehman on Wednesday.
The federation has invited Iranian bowlers to tour Pakistan and they accepted the offer and will visit Pakistan in mid-February to play a Tenpin Bowling series with Pakistani bowlers, Ijaz revealed in an exclusive interview with TheNation.
Ijaz said they have contacted more than 120 bowlers of the world to appear in next year’s international event in Pakistan and more than 100 bowlers have shown their availability.
But holding of such a big event depends on the attitude of Pakistan Sports Board and Federal Minister of Sports Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani, if they gave federation the affiliation, the championship will be on by all means and if they keep on using delaying tactics then the federation once again cancel the prestigious event, Ijaz added.
All the arrangements were finalized for holding international Benazir Tenpin Bowling Championship in Karachi and more than 100 players from around the world had confirmed their participation, but thanks to PSB, they were compelled to cancel that event at the eleventh due to non-affiliation and best possible security to all the international bowlers.
Ijaz said the federation is working day and night to enhance the soft image of our beloved country but our sports governing bodies are trying their level best to spoil all the good work done by the Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation.
Pakistan Sports Board can't present any example of its affiliated units’ year based performance like the Tenpin Bowling Federation. The federation is organizing a number of tournaments every year with their own expenses.
PSB only give affiliation to fake federations to mint money through every corner and denying affiliation to genuine federations, Ijaz claimed. Ijaz said that there was a ray of hope in the form of Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani, that he will listen to our genuine demands and order the concerned PSB officials to resolve this long-standing demand of affiliation but to the utter disappointment, Bijrani has cancelled thrice the executive committee meeting.
The federation has send him a request for a personal meeting on 17th of this month but no one even bothers to send us a reply, if things went like this, the bowling will not prevail in the country, and all our efforts, which they are putting from the last eight years or so will go in vain.
Ijaz said that he has to cancel trip to South Africa, where the 47th Bowling World Cup was taking place due to non-release of promised grant by the Director General (Technical & Training) PSB, who in the presence of media has promised to sanction the grant, that left federation with no other option but to cancel our trip.
Ijaz has humbly appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to launch an inquiry in to the long standing issue and the responsible persons denying the youth of the country to excel at international stage be brought to justice.
They are willing to establish an international standard bowling alley in the federal capital, where the bowlers will be provided all kinds of facilities at much cheaper rates. If PSB take up federation’s affiliation case seriously and grant affiliation then they will utilize to promote the game in the youngsters to involve them healthy activities rather than letting them fall pray in to the hands of terrorists, Ijaz concluded.