The Queen's Baton Relay reached the Maputo Airport to initiate its interactive relationship with the people of the African country of Mozambique. Dr. Maputo Airport , Indian High Commissioner along with Mr. Marcelino Macome, CGA President welcomed the Queen's Baton on its arrival.
Mozambique, located on the southeast coast of Africa, is the world's 35th largest country. Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language of the nation, however, only 40 percent of the population speaks the language. Mozambique is one of Africa's up-coming hot-spots, with stunning beaches, excellent diving sites and offshore islands that are magical in their beauty.
Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995 as a former Portuguese territory and made its debut in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games. The country won the Gold and Silver on its debut at Kuala Lumpur in the women's 800m, with the legendary Maria Mutola winning the race. It was a feat she repeated in the 2002 Manchester Games, while the Melbourne Games yielded her a Bronze in the same event. The Queen's Baton started its journey for the Maputo Municipal Council after the reception at the airport. Binta Jambane - participant in 1984 Olympics in Athletics - was among the 10 official batonbearers. It was a 7 km journey that took the Baton through the Lusaka Avenue, Marianne Nguambe Avenue, Karl Marx Avenue and Praça da Independecia. The entire journey took two hours.
At 4.45 PM, the official function at the Municipal Council premises started. The Indian Ambassador and His Excellency Mr. David Simingo the President of the Municipality were among those who were present for the event.
0 comments:
Post a Comment