PESHAWAR
The torch of the 34th National Games, which will begin this month in Quetta, and was lit at the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum in Karachi a day earlier has been sent to other parts of the country and will be reaching historical City Peshawar, famous as the City of flowers.
According to the program, the torch will reach Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar on May 7 in the evening. International athletes will bring it to Peshawar Sports Complex on the same day with special arrangements having been made for the Torch to reach Peshawar.
On May 8, the torch will be brought to PAF Headquarters Peshawar from where it will again go to Peshawar Sports Complex and from there in traditional Tango rally, the Torch will be taken to various markets throughout Peshawar city with the aim of creating awareness among the public about the Games initiated by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1948. The torch will be handed over to the Punjab Olympic Association on May 9 at Attock, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 372-member squad will participate in the 34th National Games for which currently trials have been continued and all the participating associations are conducting their trials on different dates and some of them have their training camps. The number of male athletes is 252 and the women officials will be 17 while ten more officials will go with the squad. DG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Board will be the Chef de Mission of the squad while with them Ilyas Afridi and Miss Safina Babar have been appointed as Deputy Chef of Mission.
The contingent, in the first phase, will leave for Quetta on May 11 to participate in 12 different Games to be organized in the first phase and this time the Games have been divided in two phases due to lack of accommodation in Quetta city.
In the first stage, there will be team events, while in the second stage, individual competitions will be held. The sailing competitions will be held in Karachi. Syed Aqil Shah said that the formal opening ceremony of these games will be held on May 22.
