News

Volume 3 Issue 24 - December 15, 2005

Special Olympics 2005 leaves only "winners"

D.N.I.S. News Network- Special Olympics Bharat 2005, which saw disabled children from 21 states including 10 teams from Delhi take part in sports event in the National Capital, came to a close with a colourful ceremony.

Around 1,200 children participated in the athletics events of the Special Olympics at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. But it was the team from neighbouring Pakistan that generated much interest with their extraordinary performance. The Pakistani team, consisting of boys and girls, took part in various events including 50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump, 4x100 metre relay and standing broad jump. Observers from Sri Lanka had also flown in to pick up tips for organising a similar event in the Island Nation.

Alongside the sporting activities, a Youth Summit was also organised in which Member of Parliament Sachin Pilot and business tycoon Navin Jindal interacted with disabled athletes and their non-disabled counterparts.

The annual Special Olympics Bharat this year assumes significance, as the Indian squad for the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai will be selected from these games.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had inaugurated the Special Olympics National Games at an impressive ceremony in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on 28 November and the event came to a close on the eve of World Disability Day.