PESHAWAR: The Hazara region clinched first position with 11 gold and as many silver medals as the provincial level competitions at the ongoing National Youth Carnival (NYC) Mega Challenge-2017 concluded here on Sunday.

According to results of provincial level competitions, Peshawar stood second with 10 gold and 11 silver medals, while Dera Ismail Khan grabbed third position with two gold and two silver medals.

Speaking at the ceremony at the Peshawar Sports Complex, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Sports and Culture Mehmood Khan said that participation of the youth in large number in the event was an encouraging trend, which would help them a lot to excel in various spheres of life.

“The youth are the asset of the country and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had taken various steps to engage them in healthy and productive activities,” the minister told the gathering after giving away medals and prizes to the position holders.

Secretary Sports, Tourism, Museums, Culture, Archaeology and Youth Affairs Muhammad Tariq, Additional Secretary Babar Khan, Coordinator PMRU Adil Safi, Director General Youth Affairs Asfandyar Khattak, Director General Sports Junaid Khan and a large number of spectators were also present.

The minister said that a number of events were being organised under the Youth Policy.

About the National Youth Carnival (NYC) Mega Challenge-2017, he said the winner teams and youth at the event would be supported in the respective fields on national level to boost their confidence and skills.

“The PTI government has established playgrounds at district and tehsil levels, which will promote sports at the grassroots level and pave the way for excelling players to come forward and participate in various activities and games,” Mehmood Khan added.

Organised by the Directorate of Youth Affairs, the provincial level competitions at the National Youth Carnival (NYC) Mega Challenge-2017 concluded while the national level contests would commence today.

The youth and students from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would participate in different activities and games.

As many as 2000 male and female students and youth selected in trials from public and private sectors’ schools, colleges and universities and Madrassa are participating in the carnival.

The youth are competing in drama, thematic art, painting, calligraphy, short film, Urdu, English, Pashto singing, traditional dance, music band, Qirat, spelling bee, sell-it, Na’at, English, Urdu declamations, Urdu and Pashto essay writing, bait bazi, quiz competitions, business plan, ad making, standup comedy, extraordinary and unique talent, console gaming (FIFA-2017), chess and spot photography.

A musical show was also arranged for the participants in which artistes Ijaz Sarhadi, Shahid Malang, Khalid Malik and others mesmerized the youth and students.