Indian and Afghanistan teams arrived here on Wednesday to take part in three-nation touch ball championship being played on Thursday at Punjab Stadium.
The 14-member Indian team arrived here via Bus and officials of Pakistan Touch Ball Federation accorded a warm welcome to the visiting team on its arrival. ‘Sports can play vital a big role in bringing closer the people of both the countries,” said FC Sharma, Secretary, Indian Touch Ball Federation.
He said they are delighted to be in Pakistan specially in Lahore which is a hub of sports activities and they look forward to exciting touch ball competition. “Pakistan and Afghanistan are tough and strong sides and I think it will be a thrilling event as all the team are equally good,” he said.
He called for frequent exchange of tours between India and Pakistan and said sports event help in forging brother hood besides bettering relations. Indian captain, Sher Singh and manager Diljeet Singh said their team is well prepared for the event and they expect encouraging results on part of their team. “Tough ball is an entertaining sport and we believe this event will play a big role in improving sports ties between India and Pakistan,” they said.
Meanwhile Afghan team management said they will be aiming to produce high quality display in the event to prove that Afghanistan is fast coming up in sports despite many problems at home.
“Our goal is to play with good spirit and to exhibit all round performance to achieve our set targets and we are confident of our success,” they added. The final of the five day event will be played on May 21.