Very few people in our country understand the importance of sports for our society, especially during the educational life. But fortunately there are some who provide great facilities to students even though it is not their responsibility. The VC of NED Prof Dr Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi is one of them. His name will always be there among those people who devoted their lives for the promotion of sports such as Justice Cornelius, Air Marshall Noor Khan, Prof Anwer Chaudhary, and Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

A lot has been written about the importance of sports for our society. I only want to inform the readers that very soon NED University will have a red tartan track for athletics, a synthetic football turf, floodlights cricket stadium, tennis courts, and indoor gymnasium with facilities for many disciplines — separate for girls and boys.

These wonderful sports projects would be inaugurated in four to six months’ time in 2020.

No other university in the country has such sports infrastructure. The synthetic turf has reached the base of the field in NED. Its installation will begin shortly.

Prof Dr Sarosh, son of renowned educationist Prof Hashmatullah Lodhi, who played hockey at a young age in India, knows the importance of sports for development of minds.

Prof Hashmatullah was a great lover of sports. He imparted his insight into the importance of sports to his sons who excelled in different professions.

Prof Dr Sarosh recalls that sports was a regular topic at his home. Talking to ‘The News on Sunday’, he said that he always admired Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, a French educator and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and its second President. He is known as the father of the modern Olympic Games. Charles brought people close to each other through sports competitions, he said.

“When I was appointed the VC of NED University, a most respected engineering university whose priority is providing the best engineers to society, I knew that students needed healthy physical activities to remain fit and to be able to focus on their education. Sports bring students closer. These facilities that we are developing will also be used by the other segments of society,” he said.

The VC said that what is happening at NED could not have been possible without the help of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who is a great sports lover and understands the importance of sports infrastructure.

He said the Sindh Chief Minister himself is a graduate of NED. “When we discussed the idea with him, he gave us full support. Fortunately, the secretary sports of Sindh government was Saleem Raza Khuhro, also an NED graduate. Thus, we did not have to face any bureaucratic hurdles. Today our sports project is in the final stage,” he added.

The VC said that a thorough study had been done for this project because establishing such facilities is difficult and maintaining it is even more so. “Thus we have planned to establish academies for athletics, football, cricket, and squash, which would be run by trained coaches and NED students would get training without any fees. Those coming from outside will also be allowed to use the facilities against nominal charges,” he said.

This will be the only tartan track in Karachi, as the NSTCC track has completed its life. Schools, colleges and sports associations will be allowed to organise their athletics events at NED’s tartan track for appropriate charges.

The VC said that NED University believes in systematic development. “We focused on human resource development. NED University awarded scholarship to Manager Sports Tariq Ali Gujjar, who himself is a former national-level athlete. He was sent to Germany, where he did his master’s and Phd studies,” he added.

It has to be mentioned that POA president Lt Gen Arif Hasan and former national athlete Muhammad Talib have visited the sports project at NED and declared it one of the best steps in the promotion of sports. They expressed the hope that other educational institutions would follow in NED’s footsteps.

“Athletics is the mother of all sports. When regular events are held here our future generations will not fall victim to fatigue, which will also support their studies,” Prof Dr Sarosh said.

Gujjar said that the installation of the tartan track and the synthetic turf would start in January and would be completed in about two months. He said that NED would also have a first-class cricket ground. “Its dressing room, pavilion and all other facilities are being developed keeping in mind the requirements of first class cricket. Five turf wickets will be developed here and a cricket coaching academy under a qualified coach will be established,” Gujjar added.

He also said glass-wall squash courts, fitness centre for boys and a gymnasium for girls had already been established. “There will be two tennis courts as well as a basketball court. We did not develop a hockey ground because Karachi Hockey Association’s (KHA) complex is just one kilometre away. Then there is Olympian Iftikhar Syed hockey academy nearby,” Gujjar said.

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