Kathmandu, Oct 4: Dazzling fireworks lit up the night sky and athletes mingled with each other in the true spirit of sporting friendship as the curtain came down on the last South Asian Federation Games of the millennium at the Dasarath Stadium here today.All eyes turned skywards as the breath-taking fireworks display brought an end to 10 days of intense competition among seven countries, trying to break the shackles of mediocrity and carve a niche for themselves in the sporting world.Setting aside on-field rivalries, athletes presented a happy picture as they waved to the crowd and mixed with each other for one last time before re-assembling at Peshawar in Pakistan two years hence to renew the battle.The fireworks display and a laser show, which kept the capacity crowd enthralled, were the highlights of the three-hour closing ceremony which was attended by a host of dignitaries.The rich cultural heritage of the Himalayan Kingdom again came to the fore during the ceremony as the snow leopard Huin Kancha, the mascot of the Games, bid farewell to all the visiting athletes who vied for honours in the 12-event sporting extravaganza which returned to this picturesque city after 15 years. Regional powerhouse India reaffirmed their overwhelming supremacy in South Asia with 102 gold medals while hosts Nepal took the second position in the medals table with 31 golds, mainly due to the introduction of martial art events like karate and taekwondo. The closing ceremony began shortly after the football final between Nepal and Bangladesh.The crown prince of Nepal, Dipendra Bir Bikram Shahadeva, who presided over the ceremony, distributed medals to the two teams before the athletes came onto the stadium acknowledging the cheers of the crowd who had occupied the galleries long before the football final began.After the formal speeches were over, the South Asian Sports Federation flag was lowered and the SAF flame was put out.The SASF flag was then handed over to Khalid Khan, the associate secretary general of the Pakistan Olympic Committee (POC), by the president of the Nepal Olympic committee Rukma Shumsher Rana.The SASF secretary general Dhurba Bahadur Pradhan, who is also the secretary general of the Nepal Olympic committee, then handed over the SAF torch to Mohammed Afzal Khan, an executive member of the POC.
