Imphal: A Blessing Ceremony of Manipur State Contingent participating in the 3rd North East Games, 2024 Nagaland was held Friday at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, with Chief Minister N. Biren Singh handing over the Manipur Olympic Association’s Flag to the Chef de Mission of Manipur Contingent.
A contingent of 338 athletes from Manipur including 19 officials will be participating in the 3rd North East Games, 2024 to be held at Nagaland from 18th to 23rd March 2024. Athletes from different North East States will compete in 15 different disciplines including Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Lawn Tennis, Pencak Silat, Sepak Takraw, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball, Belt Wrestling, Wrestling and Wushu.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh appreciated the athletes for upholding the professionalism of sports, even during the rough phase the State is currently passing through.
Mentioning that Manipur is known as the powerhouse of sports across India, the Chief Minister stated that Sports University is being set up in the State, recognising the contribution of the players from Manipur. He continued that the State Government had also taken various infrastructure development work in the field of games and sports, mentioning the setting up of the Digital Experience Centre and Manipur Olympian Park among others.
He reiterated the State Government announcement to provide Government jobs to all the Gold Medallists of the 36th and the 37th National Games held at Gujarat and Goa respectively. He also spoke on welfare schemes introduced for players like CM’s Sportsperson Livelihood Guarantee Scheme, Pension scheme for unemployed sportspersons, Khungang Ama Sanabung Ama and others.
Concluding his speech, N. Biren asked the participating athletes to maintain discipline during the games, adding that we could achieve our goal if we tried hard. He also extended his best wishes to the participating team and expressed hopefulness that the team would become the overall champion for the third time. He also appreciated the officials of the Manipur Olympic Association for their effort to groom young players.
Water Resources Minister Awangbow Newmai, MLAs Khongbantabam Ibomcha, Thangjam Arunkumar, Sapam Kunjakeswor, Officials of Manipur Olympic Associations, coaches and athletes also attended the blessing ceremony.
