Shillong, Feb 4: It’s been a long time coming but Meghalaya have finally won a medal at the National Games, with Pynshngain Kurbah taking bronze in canoeing at the ongoing 38th edition being held in Uttarakhand.
Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA) General Secretary Finely L Pariat informed of the win on Tuesday.
Pynshngain’s medal is the first for Meghalaya at this level in this sport. It also ends a long wait for any medal in the National Games, with the last for the state coming in 2015 – Meghalaya drew a blank in 2022 and 2023.
The MSOA appeared to have low expectations for its athletes. It didn’t hold a send-off for the contingent travelling to Uttarakhand, with a paucity of time between the Meghalaya Games and National Games blamed.
On Monday, when asked by a reporter for an update on how many medals Meghalaya had won, Pariat had replied, “You’re asking about medals like you don’t know that this government only began planting the seed in 2022, so how will we get medals?”
While congratulating Pynshngain, Pariat also praised Ian and Sheila Vincent, who have been at the forefront of promoting canoeing, kayaking and the like in Meghalaya.
These Games began on January 28 and are scheduled to end on February 14.
Meghalaya has sent a relatively small contingent of 55 athletes and officials. The disciplines the state is participating in are shooting, athletics, judo, archery, rowing, wushu, swimming, canoeing & kayaking and boxing.
