Colourful opening ceremony for Sports Festival

Anushka VITHANAGE reporting from Polonnaruwa

The opening ceremony of the 35th National Sports Festival took on a festive air with six thousand five hundred and sixty five athletes in attendance under the patronage of Minister of Mahaweli Development Maithripala Sirisena and Minister of Sports and Public Recreations Gamini Lokuge here at Polonnaruwa National Stadium yesterday.

It was a treat for the villagers as the Sri Lanka Air force band played the National Anthem and the athletes marched with elegance.

The Drill display by the students of Ananda Balika College, Hingurakgoda, Girithale M.M.V and Rajarata M.V added glamour to the event and more colour was added by the floating balloons.

The Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Chinthana Geethal Vidanage and National Badminton Champion Renu Chandrika de Silva lit the Olympic Torch while W.M Sonali Kumari Weerasekara took the Olympic oath.

Nestle Lanka sponsors this year's event which concludes on Sunday, followed by a grand closing ceremony which will start at 2.30 p.m. The events will start at 7.30 a.m. today and tomorrow.