ISLAMABAD: Two young skiers will leave for South Korea on Sunday (tomorrow) to participate in the 12th edition of annual winter sports festival.

The event will kick off from Jan 25 in Pyeongchang and Gangneung cities, the host and venue cities of the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games.

The 13-day-long event will witness 172 youngsters from 42 nations taking part.

Youngsters Juma Mir and Mohammad Mumtaz will represent Pakistan. Both skiers belong to the Naltar valley of Gilgit-Baltistan.

“We have completed all arrangements to participate in this event and our two-member team along with their coach will leave for South Korea on Sunday,” said a spokesman of the Pakistan Ski Federation.

A spokesman of the South Korean Embassy said the official event will start on Jan 26 at Alpensia Convention Centre, which will be attended by some 300 people including the Dream Programme participants, ambassadors to South Korea from participating nations and officials from various levels.

He said that on Jan 27 participants will have a chance to experience winter sports such as bobsleigh and biathlon, visit Pyeongchang Trout Festival, one of the most well-known winter festivals of the province, and take a gondola up to Barwang-san Mountain, showcasing the beauty of the region.

From Jan 28 to 30 and Feb 2 to 5, participants will receive seven-day intensive training on one of six sports — alpine skiing, snowboard, cross-country skiing, biathlon, figure skating and short track speed skating.

Published in Dawn January 24th , 2015

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