LAHORE: The National Junior Badminton Championship was inaugurated on Friday at the Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium Hall by Director General Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Khizar Afzaal Chaudhry. The opening ceremony featured a ceremonial badminton match played by DG Sports Punjab Khizar Afzaal Chaudhry, President Pakistan Badminton Federation (PBF) Wajid Ali, and Idris Haider Khawaja, in the presence of a large number of enthusiastic young players.
The event was attended by several dignitaries including Director Sports Rana Nadeem Anjum, Director Admin Abid Shaukat, Punjab Olympic Association CEO Idris Haider Khawaja, President PBF Wajid Ali, Waqar Ali, and other officials, reflecting the importance of the championship in promoting badminton at the grassroots level. Speaking to the media, DG Sports Punjab Khizar Afzaal Chaudhry highlighted that more than 300 male and female players from 10 teams—Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, SNGPL, Army, and Wapda—are participating in the event. He described this as a welcome sign and expressed hope that several promising badminton players will emerge from the competition.
He further noted that Punjab athletes had exhibited wonderful performances in the 35th National Games, finishing ahead of several top departments on the medals table. He emphasized that the Punjab Sports Department, in collaboration with the Punjab Olympic Association and other sports associations, is working diligently to strengthen the sports culture in the province.
