Sindh Games start in Larkana today

Thursday, May 28, 2009By our correspondentKARACHI: All roads in Larkana would be leading to the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Sports Complex where the 12th Sindh Games would be declared open in a colorful ceremony on Thursday (today).

The opening ceremony, to be spread over a couple of hours, is likely to be watched by a capacity crowd of four to five thousand people. The presence of the spectators will be helpful in boosting the spirits of around two thousand athletes from all over the province.Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, Sindh Minister for Sports and President, Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), will be the chief guest in the opening ceremony to be presided over by Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to get underway at 5.30 pm with the march past by the five participating teams to be followed by the torch lighting and oath taking rituals. The participants and the spectators would then be entertained by tableaus by the students of local schools.A spokesman of the organising committee informed 'The News' that the contingents from Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur had reached Larkana on Wednesday afternoon while the one from Mirpurkhas was being expected sometime in the evening."We have tried our level best to provide hassle-free stay to all the outstation athletes and officials. We have made the best possible arrangements for them and we are confident that their stay in the town of Larkana would be memorable," he added.

The Sindh Games has returned to Larkana after 16 years. The first-ever Sindh Games were held in this town in 1986 and then the fifth edition was staged in 1993. The 12th Sindh Games would witness 24 disciplines to be contested by the men and 10 by women besides the four indigenous games and the exhibition event tug of war.The men athletes would be in action in athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, bodybuilding, boxing, cycling, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, karate, netball, squash, swimming, table tennis, tae kwendo, tennis, throwball, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu while the female athletes would be engaged in the disciplines of athletics, badminton, basketball, hockey, karate, netball, softball, table tennis, throwball and volleyball.