Nagaland government committed to foster sporting culture — Governor

State to host Asian Belt and Traditional Wrestling Championships

KOHIMA — Nagaland Governor La. Ganesan on Monday announced that that state will be hosting the Asian Belt and Traditional Wrestling Championships later this year.

Addressing the first-day of the fourth assembly session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in Kohima, the governor said this would be the biggest sports event to be held in Nagaland so far.

Ganesan also highlighted the achievements made by sportspersons from the state in recent times such as winning eight medals in the last National Games at Goa and 80 medals in the 2nd North East Olympics held at Shillong.

While mentioning the just concluded major sporting event — Khelo India University Games, 2023 (Asthalaxmi) for wrestling — held in Kohima, he also informed that the state is set to host the North East Olympic Games next month.

Also read: Nagaland Chief Minister calls for fair competitions as Khelo India University Games begin

Informing that the Department of Youth Resources and Sports commissioned five pre-fabricated multi-discipline sports stadiums last year, he also said that construction of another 11 sports projects across the state are underway,

He also said that there are several other major projects for stadium and ground which have been either completed or ongoing, including  the development of a FIFA standard football stadium with synthetic turf and floodlights at NAPTC Chümoukedima.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to further foster sporting culture among the people and make the state a leading sporting power in the country, the governor said that the state has been making several critical interventions towards this end by building and improving the sports infrastructure across the state.

He opined that these initiatives will go a long way in providing the requisite infrastructure to the budding sports persons while also enabling to host big sporting events and competitions in the state.

Nagaland emerging as music and arts capital

Meanwhile, the governor said that Nagaland is also emerging as one of the music and arts capitals in the Northeast region and in the country.

He maintained that the artistes from the state are going global, drawing accolades for their talent and performance. Ganesan went on to say that the Hornbill Music Festival has emerged as one of India’s biggest music events and that the 2023 edition witnessed the participation of 40 bands and 800 musicians from five countries.

He added that the Hornbill Music Festival had a social media impact of more than 10 million viewers.

Further, he mentioned that the recently concluded Asia Music Summit (AMS) held at Kohima, the first time in the country, witnessed participation from more than 12 countries and 510 registered delegates which, he said, further cemented the reputation of the state as a powerhouse of music and talent.