‘Summer games being organised as per CM’s vision’

LAHORE:Chief Minister Summer Games are being organised to provide maximum playing opportunities to emerging youth with an aim to trace talented athletes from across the province in accordance with the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

DG Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Khizar Afzaal Chaudhry said this while presiding over an important meeting regarding the Chief Minister Punjab Summer Games at the National Hockey Stadium on Friday.

Director Admin Dr M Kaleem, Director Sports Rana Nadeem Anjum, Deputy Director Tariq Khanzada, Deputy Director Yasmeen Akhtar and District Sports Officer Lahore Tanveer Abbas Shah attended the meeting in person while all divisional and district sports officers of the province participated in the meeting through video link.

Addressing the meeting, DG Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab said that the monitoring committees have been formed to ensure transparency in CM Punjab Summer Games district level competitions and in this regard the monitoring officers have been directed to submit a report after the conclusion of sports events in their respective districts.

He said the competitions of four games – hockey, volleyball, badminton and kabaddi - will be organised in all the districts of the province from June 1 to 5 while the Inter-Division competitions will be conducted at Lahore from June 12 to 18. “All the players have been directed to wear a proper kit for participation in the competitions”.

Khizar Afzaal said that merit-based trials have been conducted at the tehsil level before the district level competitions. “We are quite upbeat that several young talented players will emerge from grass root level through the platform of Chief Minister Punjab Summer Games”.

Meanwhile, the CM Punjab Summer Games tehsil level boys’ hockey trials were held at the National Hockey Stadium Pitch-2 on Friday. Olympian Tauqeer Dar, international hockey umpire Beenish Hayat, DSO Lahore Tanveer Shah and TSO Nasir Malik supervised the trials process. More than 40 boys participated in the trials. All the participating players were divided into groups for organising practice exhibition matches to gauge the match fitness and stamina of players.