Army chief distributes awards to winners of 6th PACES championship

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Okara Cantt on the conclusion of 6th Army PACES (Physical Agility and Combat Efficiency System) Championship and distributed awards to the winners on Friday.

A total no of 250 contestants from 10 best teams participated in different events of championship which was held from 9 – 18 Aug 2017, said a statement issued by the media wing of military, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

PACES is a concept introduced in the Pakistan Army in 2010 by revamping existing physical training methods with the objective to improve the fitness and agility of troops, said the ISPR.

“The concept flourished and later on the armies of other countries also adopted it in their training programs. PACES Competition is an exceptional and distinctive physical fitness competition calling for demonstration of strength, agility and endurance skills,” it added.

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Participants of 6th Army PACES Championship exhibited undying spirit and stamina, the statement read.

Speaking on the occasion, the COAS appreciated the physical fitness standards displayed by the participants of the competition and efforts of both trainers and trainees in achieving those standards.

He said that regardless of the advances in warfare technology, the basic traits of soldiering are linked with physical fitness.

Rawalpindi Corps team won the 6th Army PACES Championship while Karachi Corps team won the 2nd Position in the competition.

Sepoy Zahir Shah won the overall best player award of the competition and Sepoy Nasir Ullah secured overall 2nd Position.

In individual matches, Sepoy Ashir Masih secured first position in 3.2 Km run by covering distance in 09:57 minutes. Sepoy Shamraze Shaheen won first position by completing combat efficiency test in 53.26 seconds.

Sepoy Jamshaid Khan did 112 pull ups to clinch 1st position in pull ups match. Sepoy Ashir Azeem secured first position in sit up match by doing 2377 sit ups.

Sepoy Irfan Riaz did 1503 pushups to secure first position. Lieutenant General Hidayat Ur Rehman, Inspector General Training and Evaluation and Commander Bahawalpur Corps, Lieutenant General Sher Afgun were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, on arrival at Okara Cantt, the Army chief was received by Lieutenant General Sarfraz Sattar, Commander 2 Corps.