LAHORE - Rashid Minhas Shaheed Nishan-e-Haider XI defeated Captain Sher Khan Shaheed Nishan-e-Haider XI by 58-53 to clinch the title in the Hakeem Muhammad Saeed Shaheed Trophy Defence Day Basketball Tournament that concluded at the International Abdul Nasir Basketball Court, Aram Bagh, Karachi. The chief guest of the final was Syed Muhammad Arsalan, Director of Hamdard Foundation Pakistan, who distributed cash prizes and other awards among the players at the end of the match. Also in attendance were Shahida Parveen Kayani, President of Firdous Ittihad, along with Sheikh Shakeel Ilyas, Ghulam Muhammad Khan, Niaz Ahmed Rajput, Abdul Hameed Baloch, Ghulam Abbas Jamal Adv, Abdul Razzaq Baloch, and other notable figures. The chief guest announced that this tournament would now become a permanent part of the Hamdard Foundation’s annual calendar and promised to host an even better tournament next year. He expressed that it is the heartfelt wish of Saadia Rashid, President of Hamdard Foundation, for Pakistan to lead in the fields of education and sports, and Hamdard is working towards this goal with the same spirit. In recognition of his contribution to promoting sports, especially basketball, Ghulam Muhammad Khan was awarded the Hakim Muhammad Said Shaheed Award.
In the final, Daniyal Marwat scored 16 points, Raj Kumar 15 points, and Hasan Ali 13 points for the winning team, while Muhammad Talha scored 20 points, Haris Shahid 15 points, and Muhammad Moaz Ashraf 14 points for the runner-up team.
The referees and technical officials for the final match included Muhammad Ashraf, Amir Sharif, Zahid Malik, Tariq Hussain, Faisal Amjad Ali, Naeem Ahmed, and Zaeema Khatoon. Commentary during the match was done by Shabana Shafiq from Radio Pakistan, Talat Idrees from KMA College, and Naseem Hameed, the SAF Games gold medalist.
