AOPNEWS | February 10, 2016

Afghanistan won it’s first gold medal at the 12th South Asian Games (SAG) today in India. Wushi martial artist Khairullah Lalzad defeated his Pakistani counterpart to win the gold in the 75kg category. His teammate Shakib Haidari received silver. With these two additional medals, Afghanistan now has a total of 15 medals – 1 gold, 3 silver, and 11 bronze. Host country India is leading in gold as well as in total medal wins. It has so far won 194 medals – 117 gold, 61 silver, and 16 bronze. Sri Lanka is in third place with 133.

Lalzad getting his hand raised in victory

This year’s South Asian Games began on February 6 and it will finish on February 16th. A total of 8 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) are participating in 23 sports in the South Asian Games.