By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The poor performance of the State contingent in the 26th North East Games which concluded on Friday in Aizawl has raised a major question on the commitment of the government for the promotion of sports in the State.
The State contingent, which finished at the bottom of the table, won a total of 21 medals in the event– one Gold, three Silvers and 18 Bronze medals. The lone Gold came from taekwondo while boxing fetched 10 medals. However, the tally seems minuscle when compared to leaders Mizoram who won 106 medals (59 Golds, 24 Silver and 23 Bronze medals) followed by Manipur who finished second with 80 medals (29 Gold, 26 Silver and 25 Bronze medals. Assam ranked third with 62 medals.
It may be mentioned that the State was at the bottom of the table in the previous edition of the North East Games too.
When contacted, a senior official of the Sports and Youth Affairs department on condition of anonymity admitted to the faulty policy of the government in grooming the young talent to perform at this level.
“I have the first hand experience of accompanying the state contingent to these games. I could see the young athletes from other states of the region are far superior in comparison to our participants in all disciplines,” he said.
While suggesting on the need to have a fresh look on the policies to promote the various sports disciplines, the official said that the government also needs to allocate more funds for the promotion of sports.
“The Sports and Youth Affairs department is still a minor department. To improve things, we need to convert it into a major one (department),” he said.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma had said on Wednesday that the government intends to make football the number one sport of the state. The CM had assured that adequate funds would be allocated to achieve the objective.
“I am not against promoting football since the State has huge talent in this discipline. But it is also not right to overlook other sports,” the official said while also admitting that if not for Sports Authority of India (SAI) it would be difficult for the department to sent a State contingent for events like the National Games etc.
Lack of events like State atheletic meets also rob the ahtletes of a proper platform to nurture and test their skills.
“At present, we (Sports and Youth Affairs department) is focusing only on holding sports event at the school level,” he said.
The official also criticised the various sports associations for not doing much to promote their respective disciplines.