LAHORE - Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Noor ul Amin Mengal formally inaugurated the 42nd National Kabaddi Championship here at Punjab Hockey Stadium on Wednesday. 
Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Secretary Rana Sarwar, Deputy Director Youth Affairs Omair Hasan and a large number of players and officials were also present on this occasion. Talking to media, Mengal said kabaddi is a traditional and one of the most popular games of Punjab. “All the participating teams are presenting excellent performance in the championship,” he added. 
To a query, Mengal vowed to revive sports activities in schools. “We will go to every extent to eliminate politics from provincial sports. Sports and Youth Affairs Department Punjab will utilise all govt resources carefully for the promotion of sports in the province. A corporate model is being introduced in the provincial sports and we will further improve and upgrade the sports infrastructure in the province.” 
SEVEN MATCHES DECIDED
Seven matches were decided on the opening day of the 42nd National Kabaddi Championship at Punjab Stadium. Defending champions Pakistan Air Force (PAF) defeated North Punjab 38-5, Wapda beat Central Punjab 41-22, POF beat Sukkur Region 35-13, Pakistan Army beat South Punjab 53-19, Pakistan Railways beat Islamabad 32-13, Peshawar beat Quetta 38-12 while Punjab Police beat visiting EC team by 47-31. 
Today (Thursday), PAF will face HEC in the first quarterfinal while Wapda will face South Punjab in the other quarterfinal clash. Tomorrow (Friday), Army will play against Central Punjab while the Police team will vie against North Punjab in their quarterfinal matches.