TEHERAN: A seven-gun salute heralded the start of the Seventh Asian Games after the Shahanshah of Iran declared the Games open amid spectacular sports pageantry here this afternoon [Sept 1]. One lakh spectators jam-packed the main Aryamehr Stadium, including top sports officials of the world with the Shahanshah and Empress Farah climaxing the occasion by their presence. ... An impressive march-past by 25 participating teams clad in their national dresses ... highlighted the ceremony. ...

The Iranian crowd gave a big hand to the Pakistani contingent when they passed the Royal gallery presenting salute to the Shahanshah.

... Clad in green blazers and flannels, but without Jinnah caps this time, the Pakistani contingent earned appreciation for their smart march-past. The Pakistani sportsmen will get down to real business when they contest for 1292 gold, silver and bronze medals of 16 events. ...

The Israeli team was kept out of sight. ...

But their appearance, flanked by security guards in time for the march-past, provoked no reaction. The biggest cheers for teams entering the stadium were for the Chinese, North Koreans and the Iranian contingent.

The ... ceremony ended with the Asian Games anthem. News agencies