TEHERAN: A seven-gun salute heralded the start of the Seventh Asian Games after the Shahanshah of Iran declared the Games open amid spectacular sports pageantry here this afternoon [Sept 1]. One lakh spectators jam-packed the main Aryamehr Stadium, including top sports officials of the world with the Shahanshah and Empress Farah climaxing the occasion by their presence. … An impressive march-past by 25 participating teams clad in their national dresses … highlighted the ceremony. …

The Iranian crowd gave a big hand to the Pa­­­kistani contingent when they passed the Ro­­­­yal gallery presenting salute to the Shah­a­n­shah. … Clad in green blazers and flannels, but without Jinnah caps this time, the Pakistani contingent earned appreciation for their smart mar­ch-past. The Pakistani sportsmen will get down to real business when they contest for 1292 gold, silver and bronze medals of 16 events. …

The Israeli team was kept out of sight. … But their appearance, flanked by security guards in time for the march-past, provoked no reaction. The biggest cheers for teams entering the stadium were for the Chinese, North Koreans and the Iranian contingent. The … ceremony ended with the Asian Games anthem.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2024