Trophy, logo of KP games unveiled

PESHAWAR: The logo and trophy of the upcoming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Under-23 Games were unveiled at a ceremony held here at the Nishtar Hall on Wednesday.

Special athletes’ national archer Shanaz and table tennis player Zainab unveiled the logo and trophy.Provincial Minister for Sports Mehmood Khan, Peshawar District Nazim Muhammad Asim Khan and Peshawar Commissioner Shahab Ali Shah were the chief guests on the occasion.

Secretary sports Muhammad Tariq Khan, Deputy Commissioner Islam Zeb, Director General Sports KP Junaid Khan, Director Sports (female games) Rashida Ghaznavi, Chairman Sports and Culture Committee Mian Khan Afridi and a large number of spectators were also present on the occasion.

The games will start in the first week of March.Peshawar District Nazim Asim Khan urged the youth to take active part in sports along with curriculum activities and exhibit their talent.He said that sports were good for physical and mental health.

Mehmood Khan said that 11,500 athletes will take part in 26 male and 17 female disciplines of the third Under-23 Games. He said that the first and second editions of the games were organised in 2015-16 and 2016-2017, wherein 8,000 male and female athletes took part in 20 male and 15 female sports disciplines.

Director General Directorate of Sports Junaid Khan highlighted various steps being taken to ensure better facilities for the players.He said that games for male participants included cricket, football, volleyball, hockey, squash, badminton, table tennis, boxing, athletics, gymnastic, judo, karate, taekwondo, kabaddi, wrestling, tug-of-war, tennis, handball, cycling, snooker, swimming, archery, wushu, muaythai and weightlifting.

He said the women players will participate in cricket, netball, hockey, basketball, squash, badminton, table tennis, athletic, judo, wushu, tennis, rounder, wushu and taekwondo events.Earlier, cash prizes were distributed among eight top players of the previous editions of the games. Those awarded cash prizes included Fahad Khawjah, Shah Hussain and Hamza Gul, Laiba Ijaz, Sana Bahadar, Nimra Aqeel, Noureena Shamus and Maaz Akhtar.