Pakistani Student Cricketer’s Spellbind Sichuan University

In order to introduce, Pakistan’s favourite passion, cricket in Sichuan province a cricket tournament was sponsored by the Sichuan University. Seven teams from Sichuan province and one team from Chongqing played the tournament at Sichuan University’s stadium.

The opening ceremony of the tournament kicked off by playing the national anthems of Pakistan and China. Pakistan’s flags were erected around the sprawling Sichuan stadium. Pakistani students mesmerized the Chinese crowd by singing famous cultural songs of Pakistan.

At the unveiling ceremony, members of the Sichuan University expressed their delight in introducing Pakistani sport in the University. Professor Song, Director of the Pakistan Study Centre at the Sichuan University, while speaking at the occasion underscored that such friendly matches will play a great role in strengthening sports diplomacy between Pakistan and China and reinforce people-to-people ties. He hoped that Pakistani players will motivate their Chinese friends to develop a knack for playing cricket.

A cheering and spirited crowd of more than two hundred Pakistani students inspired the Chinese participants, in the rambunctious stadium, making them appreciate the fighting spirit of the players and their brutal often implacable zeal to defeat their opponents. The Chinese crowd loved the dramatic, the heart-breaking, the hopeful, and the rapidly changing moments that define the spirit and character of a cricket match.

Consul General of Pakistan, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, thanked the Sichuan University, particularly the Pakistan Study Centre, for taking the initiative of organizing the first-ever cricket match and also thanked other Chinese universities for supporting their students to take part in the tournament.

Haroon Masood, Commercial Counsellor of the Pakistani Consulate General, in his remarks emphasized that sports were an important part of our cultural expression and that cricket was Pakistan’s craze. He expressed delight that cricket match was being played at the Sichuan University and hoped that going forward cricket will capture imagination of Chinese youth thus brining Pakistani and Chinese youth even closer. The tournament was covered by Chinese media.

The cricket team of the Sichuan University of Science and Engineering (SUSE), Yibin won the tournament.