Sports festival for merged districts gets underway

PESHAWAR: About 3000 athletes are participating in 17 different games as the sports festival merged districts got underway at the Qayyum Sports Complex here on Tuesday.

Provincial Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Iqbal Wazir formally inaugurated the games.

More than 3,000 athletes from seven districts are taking part in various games including athletics, volleyball, basketball, badminton, boxing, baseball, bodybuilding, cricket, football, table tennis, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, taekwondo, wushu, and weightlifting.

Provincial Minister Iqbal Wazir appreciated Director General Sports Asfandyar Khattak, Director Sports Merged Districts Pir Abdullah Shah and Sports Department team for organising the festival and said that there is talent in the integrated districts and it needs attention and hard work.

A player from a backward area like Waziristan has been selected in the national cricket team, he said. He said that the Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan allocated Rs1000 million to develop sports infrastructure in tribal areas.

The Chief Minister, he said, is paying special attention to the development of integrated districts and sports.