Shillong, Nov 2: The 1st Inter-School Artistic Gymnastics Championship 2026, organised at JN Indoor Stadium here, concluded on Saturday after two days of intense competition amongst the young gymnasts.
As many as 130 gymnasts from 30 schools across Meghalaya participated in the two-day championship and competed in both boys’ and girls’ artistic gymnastics across sub-mini, mini, sub-junior, junior and senior categories.
The championship was organised by the Meghalaya Gymnastics Association (MGA) in collaboration with and financial support from the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs.
The overall champion was Loreto Convent, which finished with 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze), while the joint second-placed schools were Government Girls Higher Secondary and Shillong College, which both bagged 3 gold each. Pine Mount was next with 1 gold, 2 silver and 7 bronze.
The Most Promising Athlete awards went to Omebankhraw Ryntathiang of St Joseph Higher Secondary (boys) and Bimiksa Pangmae D Sangma of St Margaret’s Higher Secondary (girls).
Speaking as chief guest at the valedictory function, Director of Sports & Youth Affairs Alertson Nongbri expressed appreciation to the members of the MGA for organising the first-ever inter-school championship amidst various constraints. He noted that due to lack of space, the indoor stadium is shared by badminton players and gymnasts.
Nongbri said that in view of the upcoming 39th National Games 2027, which Meghalaya will host, athletes of various disciplines are giving their best to be fit to compete at the national level.
Speaking as guest of honour, Phrangki Pale, Senior Project Engineer of the State Sports Council of Meghalaya, said the state has no dearth of gymnastics talent. With four months left for the National Games, he urged the MGA and athletes to work hard to win medals for Meghalaya. Certain disciplines will be held in other North East states and gymnastics is likely to be one of them, with Tripura the possible venue.
(Photo contributed)
