SHILLONG, Nov 1: Jason Passah takes a swing with his club and sends the ball a couple of hundred yards up the fairway. He has been doing this for hours every day in preparation for the forthcoming 2nd North East Olympic Games 2022 that Shillong will be hosting.
In his mid-twenties, Passah is the youngest in Meghalaya’s 14-member team that will take part in the four-day event at the renowned Shillong Golf Course.
The Games will kick-off on November 10 and conclude on November 16. Golf, however, will be played until 13 November. There are 14 slots for each state and, so far, three have filled their quota – hosts Meghalaya, Assam and Manipur – for a total of around 70 golfers across the eight states. Assam is expected to mount a strong challenge, Passah said, but he sounded confident in Meghalaya’s strength.
The event coordinator is Rudi Warjri, who fell in love with the game during his career in the Indian Foreign Service. He is excited that golf is making its debut at the NEOG, which he feels is fitting given that it is now included in the National Games and Olympics.
“You have to remember that golf reached India before it even got to the United States. So, we have a rich golf legacy and heritage in India, including the North East, but we have not been able to take advantage of these assets as yet,” he said.
Shillong Golf Course was founded in the late 19th century and has largely been developed out of the natural surroundings, i.e. it was not artificially created, and has been dubbed the ‘Gleneagles of the East’. The 18-hole course is challenging for any golfer but the state’s players are hopeful.
The events hosted in Shillong have given the Meghalaya Golf Promoters Society (MGPS) the necessary experience to be able to take on the North East Olympic Games, MGPS secretary Gaurav Bajaj, one of the competitors at the NE Olympics, said.
