12 April 2005	Tuesday	02 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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ISLAMABAD, April 11: Indiscipline marked the start on Monday of the second University Games supposed to be the barometer of the new generation’s qualities.

It took the organisers almost an hour to have the participating students line up for the opening ahead of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s arrival at the Jinnah Stadium.

More than 4500 athletes representing as many as 68 universities from across the country were a disorderly lot and it required repeated requests on the public address system for them to queue up in a proper manner.

The officials accompanying the participating squads also appeared to turn a deaf ear to the requests and did not bother to bring about discipline among their ranks.

Fortunately, just when the bugles sounded, announcing the Prime Minister’s arrival, order was quickly restored. But still, as the national anthem was played a number of late-coming athletes kept running on to the pitch to join their respective squads.

And shortly afterwards the prime minister, perhaps not aware of the scenes that had preceded his arrival, spoke about Quaid-i-Azam’s motto of unity, faith and discipline.

He urged the participating athletes to follow the motto and truly display its three qualities during the week-long Games.

“Sports is an important medium to build discipline,” he said and urged the participants to show sportsman spirit during the course of the event.

Saying that being among students reminded him of his university days, he stressed that if “we do not develop and globalise we will be history...if we work hard and develop ourselves, we will make history.”

Dr. Attaur Rehman, chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), who are organising the Games wished the athletes good luck.

The ceremony proved to be a damp squib with only a handful of spectators present to watch prominent boxer M. Asghar Ali light the flame. The most striking feature of the show was para jumping by personnel of Pakistan Air Force who landed right in the middle of the Jinnah Stadium.

Just as the prime minister left, it was free for all as the athletes joined provincial folk dancers on the pitch and began to dance to the beats of the drums.