A three-day district-level athletics meet, being held as part of the 70th Punjab School Games, began with a grand opening ceremony at the Government Sports School, Jalandhar, on Wednesday. The tournament will continue from October 7 to 9.Boys and girls in the Under-14, Under-17 and Under-19 categories are participating in various athletic events, including races, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and relay races. On the first day, athletes participated in the competitions with great enthusiasm and sportsmanship.The tournament is being organised under the supervision of District Sports Coordinator Amandeep Kondal, International Judo Referee Surinder Kumar and District Tournament Committee General Secretary Baljit Singh Dhillon. The tournament was inaugurated on Wednesday by chief guest District Education Officer (Secondary) Dr Gurinderjit Kaur. Deputy District Education Officer (Secondary) and State Awardee Rajiv Joshi attended as the special guest. Interacting with the players, Dr Gurinderjit Kaur and Rajiv Joshi encouraged them to participate with sportsmanship, discipline and great enthusiasm.Lecturer Surinder Kumar extended his best wishes to the players, while Principal Sukhdev Lal Babbar encouraged the students to put their best foot forward in the display of sporting prowess.In the Under-17 girls’ 300-metre race, Prachi Kumari of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bhogpur, secured first place, while Sweety of the same school finished second and Anshika of Army Public School secured third place.In the girls’ Under-17 100-metre event, Manjot Kaur of Amardeep Public School secured first place, Harnoor of Seth Hukam Chand Public School finished second and Avneet Kaur of Cambridge Innovative School took third place. In the girls’ Under-19 long jump competition, Anmolpreet Kaur of HMV Collegiate School claimed first place, Khushi Kumari of Government High School Nussi finished second and Jaspreet Kaur of Guru Arjan Dev Public School secured third place.In the boys’ (Under-19) 3,000-metre event, Ayush of Government Senior Secondary School, Laddhewali, finished first, Kishan Kumar of United Christian School, Suranussi, came second and Lavjot of Government Senior Secondary School, Kapur Pind, secured third place.Similarly, in the (Under-14) 400-metre race, Ayush Raj of Army Public School secured first place, Manmeet Singh of Government High School, Basti Bawa Khel, finished second, and Suraj Kumar of Khalsa School, Alawalpur, took third place.The District Tournament Committee made the necessary arrangements for the players, coaches, referees and officials. Competitions across various age groups will continue during the tournament, and players demonstrating outstanding performances will be selected for competitions at the next level. Students from various schools, coaches, teachers and sports officials were present on the occasion.