Collecting 499 points, Blue Panthers emerged victorious in the two-day annual sports meet of the Pakistan International School Jeddah - English Section (PISJ-ES) here recently. Red Tornadoes earned the second place with 469 points, while Green Commandoes (460) and Yellow Spartans (423) secured third and fourth places, respectively. The young athletes from grade level 1 to 4 led off the opening ceremony with all colors of rainbow at the sports ground. The second day's events were led by senior girls and boys from grade 5 onward to A Level. The meet commenced with the recitation from the Holy Qur'an followed by the flag hoisting ceremony and the national anthems of both Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Athletes from all four houses ignited the meet torch, which officially set off the program. The splendid march-past exhibited true spirit of unity, faith and discipline. Along with vice principal of Pakistan International School Azizia, council general's wife and the chairperson of Pakistan Ladies Group, Sonia Shahryar Khan, graced the girls' sports day. While sharing her thoughts on the event she said, "Sports events are incorporated into children's academic activities to groom them to learn soft skills, including team spirit, endurance, leadership, tolerance and discipline for an all-round development of children to become responsible citizens of society." Highlighting the importance of sports, Principal Adnan Nasir said, "Mental and physical growth are synergetic to each other for an over-all personality building. The main motive of such events is to create well-balanced healthy individuals who can contribute to society and the world at large optimistically and responsibly." He elaborated that the winning and losing is the part and parcel of sports, therefore participants should not just focus on winning but learn to be capable enough to tackle situations in the midst of hope and despondency with sportsmanship and steadfastness. He appreciated the teaching faculty particularly PE department and the school administration for their tireless effort to hold the event professionally. Students from all houses enthralled the audience by demonstrating astounding level of agility, swiftness and teamwork during the gymnastic performance, PT and karate display. The second day was blessed with the presence of Deputy Council General Asif Hussain Memon. Senior Manager-Cambridge Examination, Raed Omar Brahedni, also graced the event. Besides many other races, there were sack race, tie-hand race and tug of war competitions. The event concluded with the distribution of medals and trophies to the winners by the chief guest and Principal Adnan Nasir. — SG
