Punjab Games begin today

Published March 3, 2003

LAHORE, March 2: In all, 2298 athletes including 1832 men and 466 women are representing 27 districts in the three-day 69th Punjab Games scheduled to begin at 18 different centres from Monday.

The full dress rehearsal ceremony for the opening ceremony was held at the newly built Punjab Stadium on Sunday.

The Games will be inaugurated by the Punjab chief minister, Chaudhary Pervez Elahi at the same venue at 10am on Monday.

Lahore are the defending champions.

The men are competing in 21 disciplines which are athletics, baseball, bodybuilding, boxing, cycling, football, gymnastic, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, rifle shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

 Women will compete in six games which include athletics, cycling, hockey, squash, swimming and table tennis.

Out of 18 centres, Atiq Stadium which is to host the kabaddi event is not ready as the venue is inundated due to last week’s rain.

The football event is scheduled to be held at the Punjab Stadium where the ground is uneven and also has patches of thick grass. Following are the names of the games with their venues.

For men: Athletics (Wapda Sports Complex), baseball (Iqbal Park Sports Complex), bodybuilding (Al-hamra Complex, Gaddafi Stadium), boxing (National Sports Training and Coaching Centre), cycling (National Cycling Velodrome), football (Punjab Stadium), gymnastics (Government College, University), handball (Government College of Physical Education Men), hockey (National Hockey Stadium), judo (Government Science College, Wahdat Road), Kabaddi (Atiq Stadium), karate (Government College of Physical Education for Men), rifle shooting (Lahore Rifle Shooting Club), squash (Punjab Squash Complex), swimming (Lahore Gymkhana Club), table tennis (National Sports Training and Coaching Centre), taekwondo (Awan Town Hall, Multan Road), volleyball (Gymnasium Hall, Iqbal Park Sports Complex), weightlifting (Punjab University Old Campus), wrestling (National Sports Training and Coaching Centre), wushu (Awami Market, Hall Road).

Women: Athletics (Wapda Sports Complex), cycling (National Cycling Velodrome), hockey (national Hockey Stadium), squash (Punjab Squash Complex), swimming (Lahore Gymkhana Club), table tennis (National Sports Training and Coaching Centre).

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