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Bopanna-Qureshi get 2010 Grand Prix of Peace and Sports award
Friday December 03, 2010 05:35:21 PM ,
Ranvir Nayar, IANS
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Paris: Indian tennis
player Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani doubles partner Aisam ul
Haq Qureshi have been awarded the 2010 Grand Prix of Peace &
Sports at a glittering event held in Monaco.
The two players, who are also known
as Indo-Pak Express were given the award in the presence of Crown
Prince of Monaco Thursday night for their role in promoting
peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.
The two have been playing together as a doubles team on the ATP
circuit in 2010 and to convey their message of peace, they have
been sporting the slogan 'Stop War, Start Tennis'.
"Their commitment to promoting peace between the two countries and
their conviction that peace was possible was shown amply during
the year. In the US Open tournament they managed to bring together
the ambassadors of India and Pakistan to support the same team,"
says the citation of the award which was handed out in a ceremony
with numerous stars from the world of sports.
Handing the award, Joel Bouzou, president and founder of Peace and
Sport Foundation, requested the governments of India and Pakistan
to support the project of Bopanna and Qureshi to organise a
symbolic tennis match at the Wagah border checkpost. "The sport is
ready for peace. Will the two governments rise to the occasion?"
he asked.
The evening saw five other awards being handed out. These included
the award for a peace project of an international sporting
federation, which was shared by world football body FIFA and IFNA
(International Federation of Netball Associations).
IFNA got the award for its programme 'Goal', which helps young
women to become independent in India. FIFA got the award for it
initiative Football for Hope, which reinforces programmes around
the world on subjects as diverse as education, health, building
peace and reconciliation.
The award for the Sporting Event of the Year went to 'Rumble In
Cartagena' - an event of rugby in wheelchairs which was organised
during the Summit for a World Free of Anti-personnel Mines.
The award for a sports NGO for peace was given to the Peres
Center, which has mounted about 10 projects favouring
socio-economic cooperation and cross-border interactions between
the Palestinian and Israeli people.
The award for Socially Responsible Company of the year was bagged
by sports wear major Puma, which organised thousands of charitable
football matches around the world to promote peace, donation of
sporting equipment.
And the special prize of the Jury went to "Out of the Ashes", a
film based on the emergence of the Afghanistan cricket team, which
originated in the refugees camps in Pakistan and went on to
participate in the Cricket World Cup.
The Peace and Sports Awards were inaugurated in 2008 and are given
by the eponymous organisation which in apolitical and neutral.
(Ranvir Nayar
can be contacted at ranvirnayar@yahoo.co.in)
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