Shillong, Aug 9: East Khasi Hills has been selected as one of 100 districts around the country to be part of a pilot project of the Athletics Federation of India that aims to boost grassroots activities.
In a letter to all affiliated state units sent on 2nd August (and shared with TSR yesterday), AFI President Adille Sumariwala said that the selection was done “on the basis of participation in National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meets (NIDJAM) in the past and conducting district championships on a pro-rata basis.”
The pilot project will monitor the activities of all selected districts to ensure that there are proper athletics activities at the district-level, including proper publicity, conduct, availability of coaches, identification of talent and sending athletes to participate in NIDJAM. The selected districts will receive monetary grants to help them hold district meets, though the amount of the grant was not mentioned in the letter.
Districts in 33 states and territories have been selected for the project, including seven North East states, with only Sikkim absent from the list. Four districts have been selected in Assam, with one chosen from each of the other six North East states.
(TSR representational photo)
