APP
SWAT
Additional Secretary Sports Junaid Khan Friday inaugurated the first Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Martial Arts Festival in Wadoodi Hall of the Jahanzeb College Mingora Swat on Friday with 200 male and female athletes from across the province are taking part in Jujitsu, Karate and Sambo.
The three-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Martial Arts Gala 2020 kicked off with a colorful ceremony in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley, with 200 male and female athletes from across the province competing in 12 different categories in Karate, Sambo and Jiu Jitsu.
Additional Secretary Sports, Culture and Tourism Junaid Khan was the special guest at the inaugural function of Martial Arts Gala. Director Development Naimatullah, District Sports Officer Swat Kashif Farhan accompanied him.
President Sambo Federation Ahsan Jahangir, Treasurer Arshad Maner, Secretary Balochistan Noorullah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Jujitsu Association President Syed Abid Ali Shah, Secretary General Tehseen Ullah Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Karate Association President Khalid Noor, South Asian Champion Sensi Farhan Ahmed Karate Coach Shah Faisal, Sports Writers Association President Ijaz Ahmed Khan, Farman Ahmed, and Khursheed Khan were also present.
In three games, more than 200 male and female athletes from across the province in karate, sambo and jiu jitsu are showing the essence of their sport in 12 different categories. In the competitions held on the opening day, Haris of Kohat won first place in Kata. Zahid of Bannu secured second position while Zubair Ali of Abbottabad and Hameedullah of Mardan secured third position. Similarly, Zahidullah of Mardan qualified for the final in the -31kg karate event.
In the first semi-final, Zahidullah defeated Zeeshan of Abbottabad. Talking to the media on the occasion, Chief Organizer Martial Arts Gala Khalid Noor thanked District Sports Officer Kashif Farhan and said that our main objective is to further promote martial arts competitions in the province.
He said that for the first time in these games, the players of districts from merged areas including Khyber and Kurram districts were given exclusive privileges in these games. A separate status was given to them, which made martial arts important in these districts. He said there is no dearth of talent in merged districts and we want to provide many opportunities to these players to come and show their hidden talent.
