Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Olympic Association, with the support of the Defense Sports Board, organised ‘Fun Run’ for the Hangzhou Asian Games here on Tuesday. The event was held with an aim to create awareness among Pakistan athletes and people regarding the Asian Games to be held in China this year. The Fun Run is a time-honoured Asian Games tradition organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) whose goal is to attract more publicity to the host city. The Asian Games Fun Run is playing a key role in promoting the event, spreading the Asian Games spirit far and wide. The Asian Games 2022, originally scheduled for September 2022, were postponed last year due to rapid spread of Covid-19 in and around the host city of Hangzhou in China. The event will now be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023. A delegation from the OCA reached Lahore on Sunday for participating in the Fun Run.

Top POA officials, OCA delegation members, former Olympians and thousands of students and athletes participated in the Asian Games Fun Run. Former Olympians and athletes cheered on the students during the Fun Run while traditional dances were also the highlight of the cultural programme at the event. Special video messages of POA President Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hasan, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan and Organizing Secretary of the Asian Games were aired at the Fun Run event. Wissam Turkmani, Director of Project and Administration Affairs of the Olympic Council of Asia, described the Fun Run in Lahore as the best event. He said that this Fun Run was very wonderful in terms of discipline and arrangements. Wissam Turkmani also thanked Pakistan for its great hospitality. POA Vice President Shaukat Javed said that they would play their role in highlighting Pakistan’s soft match by organising more sports events. POA Secretary General Khalid Mehmood appreciated and thanked the OCA delegation and advised the national athletes to focus all their attention on the Asian Games. The POA collaborated with DHA Lahore to organise the event wherein students of the Lahore College for Women University, Government College University Lahore and children from City School and sports academies participated along with citizens from various sections of society.