Gambian athletes will join more than 1300 other elite young sportsmen and women from 71 Commonwealth countries and territories that will gather in Pune, India, for the Commonwealth Youth Games, scheduled between October 18 and October 18, 2008.

Mr George Gomez, executive director, of the Gambia Olympic Committee, said this is the first time The Gambia will participate in the youth games that are meant for the under 18 sporting talents. He added that seven young athletes will represent the Gambia to the games that is speared headed by the same organisers of the traditional Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Youth Games was first staged in 2000 in Edinburgh, Scotland, where fourteen countries were represented by 733 athletes. Four years later, when Bendigo in Australia hosted the second edition of the games, about 800 athletes competed under the banner of 22 countries.

In the Indian city of Pune, the athletes will take part in a program that embraces nine of the individual sports of the Delhi games, including athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, tennis, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

Pune hosted a special event to mark the ‘100 days to go’ to the games, launching its officials merchandise and range of uniforms on July 4.

On August 1, the Youth Baton Relay will start from Delhi and spend 74 days on the road visiting hundreds of colleges and universities across its 6000-kilometer route through India before arriving at the opening ceremony in Pune in October 12.