Shillong, Oct 2: John F Kharshiing was elected as the Secretary General of the North East Olympic Association, whose members met in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on the sidelines of the ongoing 36th National Games on Friday.
The NEOA body comprises the Presidents and General Secretaries of the eight North East states. Kharshiing is the Working President of the Meghalaya State Olympic Association.
He and MSOA General Secretary Finely L Pariat (who is also the Chef de Mission of the Meghalaya contingent at the National Games) briefed the gathering on the preparations of the 2nd North East Olympic Games 2022, which Meghalaya will host in Shillong from 10th to 16th November. A number of suggestions were placed for consideration of the Meghalaya NEOG organising committee.
During the meeting, Nagaland expressed interest in bidding for the 3rd NEOG in 2024. It was resolved to accept the state’s proposal, with details of the bid to be discussed at a future meeting. A suggestion was also made that only Olympic sports be included in the next edition.
The gathering also resolved to convene a meeting of all Chief Ministers, Sports Ministers and Members of Parliament from the North East to seek their support in the promotion and development of sports and youth affairs in the region.
Apart from Kharshiing, the others elected to the new NEOA executive body were Th Radheshyam of Manipur (reelected as President), Abu Mehta of Nagaland (Working President), Mazawma Vanchong of Mizoram (Treasurer), Abraham K Techi of Arunachal Pradesh, Kuber Bhandari of Sikkim, Lakhya Konwar of Assam and Rupak Debroy of Tripura (all Vice-Presidents). The General Secretaries of each state Olympic association will act as executive members.
The President thanked all the members for their valuable contribution and advice and stated that there was much more to be done to encourage the talented youth of the North East in sports.
(Photo contributed)