Sports tournament begins in Swat

SWAT:

The Inter District Sports Tournament began here on Friday with a fabulous opening ceremony at Grassy Ground.

The tournament, being held by the education department, features various sports and is being participated by hundreds of athletes from public and private schools. The tournament will continue till November 15.

A large number of excited students, teachers, sportsmen and officials of the education department were present at the opening ceremony.

“We still remember the days when there were no such activities. We became mental patients as a result,” said a football player Fahad Khan.

“It was like living in prison before. We were afraid of going out of our houses due to fear of getting killed by the militants and it is so refreshing to get back to the grounds after such a long time,” Imtiaz Ahmed, a student of Government High School No 2, told The Express Tribune.

Executive District Officer (Education) Sultan Mahmood, who inaugurated the function, said his department was doing its best to streamline education and extra-curricular activities in the region.

“This year, even the provincial sports tournament will be played in Swat, which is a great honour for us,” he added.

However, he was unhappy with the local administration for not assisting them in the arrangements.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2011.