DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Olympic Association (NOA held a preparatory meeting for the upcoming North-East Olympic Games (NEOG) 2024 at the Games headquarters, Regional Centre for Sporting Excellence, Chümoukedima, on Feb. 21.
The meeting was attended by the 15 sports associations and Nagaland Olympic Associations officials, an update stated.
The NEOG is scheduled to be held from the March 18 to the 23rd at Chümoukedima, Dimapur and Kohima districts. The Games will consist of 16 sports disciplines including archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, belt wrestling, boxing, cricket, football, freestyle wrestling, lawn tennis, pencak silat, sepaktakraw, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball and wushu.
During the meeting chaired by NOA secretary general Abu Metha, the house extended appreciation to the chief minister and the state government for making appreciable efforts towards the development of sports in Nagaland.
The house also congratulated and extended appreciation to the participants, organisers, sports associations, local communities and all the multiple sections that positively contributed towards the successful conclusion of the Nagaland Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024.
All the eight states of the region are expected to participate in the NEOG and accordingly preparations are underway. A number of officials, technical delegates and senior members of the federations are expected to arrive in Nagaland to participate and officiate in the games.
Nagaland became the first state to include cricket in the Olympic movement after the declaration of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to make cricket a full-fledged medal event in the Olympic Games.
The games will also include the introduction of belt wrestling as the NOA aspires to promote indigenous sports particularly those that have a mass popularity amongst the local communities. Belt wrestling continues to grow on the international stage and athletes from Nagaland have won medals at the international stage representing India, it stated.
Coaching camps for the Nagaland teams in all the 16 disciplines will be conducted under the aegis of the NOA and the respective sports associations. In many disciplines national level coaches and trainers are being used for coaching the state’s teams.
The NOA also held a debriefing and preparatory meeting with the liaison officers and volunteers for the forthcoming games in order to lay the groundwork and begin the preparations for the North East Olympic Games. The volunteers and liaison officers were reminded that they would now be on state duty in order to serve the positive reputation and image of the state.
Further, the NOA reiterated its request to all sections of the people to continue to extend support to the sports fraternity of the state, especially the youth and the sportspersons.