Over 3,000 competitors for Masters Games

Over 3,000 competitors will take part in the International Masters Games which will be worked off in Sri Lanka from September 16, 2011.

The competitors from 40 countries will take part in badminton, beach soccer, beach handball, table tennis and beach volleyball.

The games will begin with the badminton tournament which will be worked off from September 16 to 19, 2011 followe4d by the Beach Soccer Championships from September 29 to October 9, 2011.

The Beach Handball Tournament will be conducted from October 13 to 23, 2011 while the Table Tennis Tournament will be held from November 17 to 27, 2011 while the Beach Volleyball Championships will be worked off in early 2012.

Competitors from top European nations such as Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, England, Scotland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Belgium, Finland, Liechtenstein and Turkey will be for honours along with Australia and New Zealand.

Asian nations which will take part are Japan, Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, UAE, Iran and Philippines.

The International Masters Games are being organized by the Asian German Sports Exchange Program in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports. The aim of organizing the tournament is to give veteran Sri Lanka players the much needed exposure and to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.