The Diamond Jubilee Sports Festival (DJSF) in Pakistan is set to reach it's climax this week with the National Games in Islamabad from 4-10th February. We will be following all the action here on the.ismaili/pakistan with daily updates on all the events. The National Games will bring together 1400 competitors who will be vying for medals in 17 sports including Cricket, Football, Swimming and Taekwondo. The National Games are the result of months of competiton that began way back in September at Jamatkhana level. The games will feature many stars from Pakistan's extraordinarily successful team at last year's Jubilee Games, along with plenty of new and upcoming athletes promising a thrilling sporting spectacle.

DJSF has brought together hundreds of thousands of Jamati members in a spirit of celebration, co-operation and healthy competition. The mammoth festival, which has lived up to its tagline UNITED WE WIN, has featured grand spectacles such as a Polo tournament in Gupis Yasin, a marathon in Ishkoman Puniyal and a cycling rally in Hunza. However, the core of DJSF has been hundreds of events up and down the country as Jamati members competed for a chance to be national champions. Jamatkhana level events led to local and regional competitions featuring 47,844 athletes which were attended by over 150,000 Jamati spectators. DJSF has captured the hearts of the Pakistani jamat, with cricket, football, international volleyball and Track & Field being the most closely-fought sports.

DJSF has only been possible thanks to thousands of volunteers in all eight regions who have worked for months to organise the qualifying competitions. Fatima, Chairperson of the AKYSB Ishkoman Puniyal Region commented,

“DJSF provided us an opportunity to think and plan big in the shape of marathon race where more than 1300 athletes participated. The event was only possible thanks to the tireless efforts of many dedicated volunteers. It was the first signature event of DJSF hosted by our region where we worked with the national and local YSBs in collaboration to make the gigantic event a huge success, which was appreciated and appraised by entire national Jamat.”

The full list of sports at the National Games is as follows:

• Team Sports - Cricket, Football, Traditional Volleyball, International Volleyball, Throw-ball, Basketball
• Individual Sports - Track & Field, Table-Tennis, Badminton, Taekwondo, Squash, Tennis, Chess, Climbing, Swimming, Senior Walk, Differently-able Race

The National Games will begin with a grand opening ceremony and cultural show. With so many talented athletes, DJSF promises to be a wonderful sporting spectacle. Watch this space for updates every day this week!