Shillong, Feb 25: Nagaland plans to hold 16 different disciplines when it hosts the 3rd North East Olympic Games next month, many of which Meghalaya has little to no experience of.
The Meghalaya State Olympic Association met here on Friday to discuss and prepare for the upcoming event.
The Games are scheduled for 18th to 23rd March in Chümoukedima, Dimapur and Kohima. The first NEOG was held in Manipur in 2018 and the second in Shillong in 2022.
The Nagaland Olympic Association has notified that 16 sports will be held. Some of these are the usual ones – archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, freestyle wrestling, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo and wushu.
Cricket has been included for the first time and volleyball, which has a minimal presence in Meghalaya, has also been put on the list.
Then there are a few lesser-known sports – belt wrestling, pencak silat and sepak takraw.
Belt wrestling is literally what the name says. It involves two wrestlers grappling each other’s belt and trying to pull them to the ground. Pencak silat is a form of Indonesian martial arts and sepak takraw is also known as kick volleyball.
This marks quite a change from the second edition in Shillong. Gone are judo, karate, shooting, swimming, cycling, golf and weightlifting. Karate was a major medal earner for Meghalaya that year, helping the state take fourth place in the medals table.
On Friday, the MSOA said that Meghalaya will participate in “almost all” the 16 disciplines “subject to support and funding” from the state government.
At the meeting were representatives of the various sports associations who were asked to start preparations in anticipation of support from the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs.
(Representative photo)
