National junior championship gets under way in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The National Junior Championship began on Sunday evening at the Peshawar Sports Complex with an opening ceremony organised by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Sports.

The event was inaugurated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafiullah Jan and Adviser on Sports and Youth Affairs Taj Muhammad Tarand. Provincial Special Assistant Humayun Khan, MPA Mian Sharafat, Sports Secretary Asif Khan, Director General Sports Tashfeen Haider and other officials also attended.

Teams representing all four provinces, Islamabad and different departments took part in a march-past during the ceremony. The event also featured a fireworks display for spectators.

Addressing the gathering, Jan welcomed athletes and officials from across the country and said he hoped the championship would feature competition of a high standard. He said sports help young people develop sportsmanship, discipline and perseverance.

He said:

Sports teach our youth sportsmanship, discipline, and perseverance,

Jan added:

Winning and losing are part of the game; true success lies in learning from your mistakes and moving forward.

The minister said the provincial government was working to ensure equal opportunities for male and female athletes, adding that several projects were in progress to promote sports in the province. He later formally declared the championship open.

Tarand said national-level events of this kind help bring together young people from different parts of the country and strengthen national unity. He said the government would continue arranging such competitions to create more chances for emerging talent.

According to Tarand, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, under Chief Sohail Afridi and in line with the vision of PTI founder Imran Khan, was paying special attention to sports development. He referred to the recent Under-21 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Games, which he said involved more than 8,000 athletes, as well as other events for orphans, persons with disabilities, minorities, transgender individuals, madrassa students and Ramazan sports competitions.

He also mentioned an ice hockey event held in Chitral. Tarand told athletes and officials they were guests of the province and said his office would remain available to help address any problems they encountered. He urged participants to compete with enthusiasm, hard work and in keeping with the spirit of sports.