PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Friday that solid measures were being taken to promote sports in the province in line with the vision of the founding chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Imran Khan.

He said this after inauguration of the first ever InterCollege Sports Gala 2025 organised by the higher education department in the province, said an official statement issued by the chief minister`s secretariat.

The chief minister said that it was for the first time in history of the province that Inter-College Sports Gala was being organised, adding that the event would now take place annually.

Mr Gandapur in his address encouraged students to work hard and make a name for themselves in both academics and sports and urged them to strive for excellence and bring pride to the province and the country.

`Sports teach individuals how to compete, and those who learn to face challenges are the ones who succeed.

The greater the competition, the bigger the victory and recognition,` the statement quoted Mr Gandapur as saying. He said that KP had carved out a unique identity in the field of sports.

He announced a total prize of Rs5 million for the participating teams in addition to regular awards and pledged to provide further funds for purchasing sports kits for schools and colleges.

He also highlighted that the province had increased its revenue by 55 per cent, with a surplus of Rs176 billion in the treasury, which would be invested in people, especially youth.

Provincial minister for higher education Meena Khan Afridi along with other officials from the higher education department, teachers, students, and athletes, attended the event in large numbers.

The sports gala features 2,000 students from 320 colleges across eight zones of the province. Competitions will be held in 13 different sports, including cricket, football, hockey, basketball, volleyball, throwball, handball, table tennis, badminton, squash, kabaddi, tchoukball, and netball.

These competitions will take place in sports complexesinthree districtsincludingPeshawar,Charsadda, and Nowshera. Earlier, inter-collegiate competitions were held at the zonal level, and the winning teams from those contests are now participating in this event.