School Olympics enliven south Punjab horizon.

LAHORE -- Punjab Minister for School Education Murad Raas on Tuesday inaugurated a five-day School Olympics at Qila Kuhna Qasim Bagh in Multan.

The South Punjab School Education Department is holding the event which has been modelled on the pattern of international Olympics. As many as 1,900 athletes (students) from 11 south Punjab districts -- Khanewal, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Lodhran, Rajanpur, Layyah, Bahawalnagar and D.G. Khan -- and parts of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are participating in football, hockey, badminton, table tennis, volleyball and athletics. Girls are participating in all games, except football.

The department has selected separate venues for boys and girls. Draws of games will be conducted in separate grounds. Football will be played at the Divisional Sports Ground, hockey at the Multan Hockey Stadium, Matital Road, badminton, table tennis and volleyball (girls) at the Government Girls Comprehensive School, Gulgasht Colony, badminton and table tennis (boys) at the Sports Gymnasium Divisional Sports Ground, Multan, volleyball (boys) and athletics (boys and girls) at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE).

The athletics include 400-meter running, high jump, 100m running, discus throw, 800m running, long jump, javeline throw, triple jump and shot put. The finals of the games will be played on Nov 12 and prizes distributed among the winners at a ceremony.

Speaking about the School Hockey League and School Olympics Games, Murad Raas said the initiative would help restore sports in educational institutions and create a nursery to prepare international quality players. He said the games would also help divert the attention of children from computers, games, mobile phones and other such electronic devices.

He said the School...