International Handball Trophy on Wednesday was kicked off at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in which men and women teams from six SAARC countries are taking part.

International Handball Trophy on Wednesday was kicked off at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in which men and women teams from six SAARC countries are taking part. The tournament will last for four days from December 3 to December 7. The teams include Nepal, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan , Maldives and Bangladesh. The tournament was being arranged by International Handball Federation and UAF. The event was inaugurated by UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan along with Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) Patron and MNA Haji Akram Ansari, Olympics Association President Gen (r) Arif Hassan, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Director Abid Qadri, Pakistan Handball Federation President Haji Shafique and other notables. On the first day in the men teams tournament, Yemen secured 31-30 victory against Afghanistan whereas Pakistan hauled Nepal by 55-15 goals. In the women matches, Nepal defeated Afghanistan by 33-3 and Bangladesh succeeded against Yemen with 47- 13. In the inaugural ceremony, students perform all folks of the country, showing the colors of traditional culture. Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the trophy is aimed at giving the message of peace through sports. He said such tournaments would help in bringing the soft image of country and strengthen the people-to-people contact among the SAARC nations. He said that the UAF was taking all possible steps to promote sports activities which was showing a negative trend in the youth because of changing life style. He urged the people to develop the sportsman spirit so that different challenges can be met effectively.