Gymnastics championship kicks off in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): A two-day gymnastics championship featuring 100 athletes from 15 clubs kicked off in Kabul on Wednesday.

At the opening ceremony, technical vice-president of Gymnastics Federation Mohammad Fahim Qayoumi said  about 1,00 athletes from 15 clubs were participating in the tournament being held in four categories -- children, teenagers, youth and adults.

The competition was aimed at selecting best athletes for the national gymnastics team, he added.

After the tournament, a gymnastics competition will be held in Kabul next month among the athletes of the provinces, in which 24 athletes will be selected for the national gymnastics team of the country, Qyoumi explained.

The selected players for the national team will be sent to Iran or Uzbekistan for two-month training camp.

In the opening ceremony, head of Guidance of the National Olympic Committee Maulvi Attaullah Briyal asked the athletes to avoid actions against Sharia.

“We are trying to strengthen any sports that do not have any problems from Shariah point of view, any sports that have Shariah problems, we should try to eliminate those objections”.

Nematullah, an athlete, told Pajhwok Afghan News he had exercised a lot in the lead up to these competitions and hoped he would be selected for the national team.

Nematullah said in the past, no attention was paid to gymnastics. He asked officials to pay attention and organize more such events.

hz/ma