BAHAWALPUR: The four-day mega sports event, School Olympics 2017, was inaugurated at the Dring Stadium on Friday. Over 1500 students, boys and girls, from at least 90 public sector schools of the district participated in the colourful event held at the hockey stadium. The “School Olympics” will include sports competitions including hockey, football, cricket, volleyball, badminton, table tennis and athletics. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Commissioner Cap (r) Saqib Zafar, Deputy Commissioner Rana Saleem Afzal, Olympian Matiullah Khan, member of National Assembly Parveen Masood Bhatti and Mayor Aqeel Najam Hashmi. The parade of students of all six districts, PT show, gymnastics, recitation of national songs, a tug of war between two groups of students and a 100-metre race were highlights of the ceremony. Commissioner Saqib Zafar said such events helped promote healthy habits, discipline and sportsman spirit among the youth. DC Rana Saleem Afzal said the objectives of the “School Olympics” were not only to organise a sports festival for students of the entire district, but also to revive the tradition of sports and other extracurricular activities in schools. Published in Daily Times, November 25th 2017.