LAHORE, Nov 23: Punjab contingent of 350 players and officials has been finalised to take part in the first Indo-Pak Punjab Games to be held at Patiala (India) from Dec 5 to 11.
Punjab Olympic Association secretary Khawaja Idrees Haider said on Tuesday that 242 sportsmen and sportswomen were included for a total of 12 disciplines. Besides 30 technical officials, 14 managers, 20 coaches and more than 24 presidents and secretaries of different sports associations were included in the contingent.
Pakistani Punjab's chief minister Chaudhary Pervez Elahi would be the chief guest at the opening ceremony to be held at the YTS Stadium, Patiala on Dec 5. The contingent will cross the border by road at Wagah checkpoint.
He said the disciplines of swimming, weightlifting and basketball had been excluded. There is no swimming pool in Patiala while the Indians are facing a two-year ban slapped by International Weightlifting Federation, therefore, both the disciplines had to be left out and Pakistan basketball has problems of its own.
The Punjab government had allocated Rs7 million for participants of the games. The camps which conclude on Dec 3 have been in progress since Oct 18, he said. The disciplines are athletics, badminton, cycling, gymnastics, handball, hockey, kabaddi, rifle shooting, volleyball, tug-of-war, wrestling and polo. Pakistan will host the second edition next year, the secretary added.
