12th South Asian Games : Biggest Sporting Extravaganza of North East

Guwahati, February 17, 2016

12th South Asian Games , the Biggest Ever Sporting Extravaganza of North East come to a Glorious End
Successful conduct of the Games writes a golden page in the history of North Eastern region

It was an evening of mixed emotions and sombreness as the curtains came down on the 12th South Asian Games 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati Tuesday evening.

The 12-day sporting extravaganza ended with a closing ceremony that complimented a grand opening ceremony suitably showcasing the rich culture of the host region. Filled with unbridled excitement and fervour of the participants and people , the stadium at Sarusajai exploded in revelry and celebration of the sports , friendship and togetherness.

Speaking on the occasion , the Assam Chief Minister Shri Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Guest said, adding that he hoped the Games will help boost trade and tourism among the eight South Asian countries who participated in the meet. He said that all the stake holders worked hard to make the games a grand success.

Thanking both Assam and Meghalaya for the successful holding of the 12th SAG, Union youth affairs and sports minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, who is also the chairman of the organising committee, 12th SAG, said the event assumed great significance because all the eight countries participated in it with a pledge to promote peace in South Asia.

He said that Successful conduct of these games had written a golden page in the history of North Eastern region and had thus not only set a quality benchmark for conduct of future games but also had given an astounding boost to the confidence of the North East region to host much bigger international sporting events in future. He said that the games had also provided a huge boost to the sports infrastructure in Guwahati and Shillong for the sportspersons in this region to hone their sporting skills.

Speaking in the occasion , Chairman OC expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister of India for giving his blessings to the games and declaring the Games open on 5th February and thanked Team South Asian Games which included the officials of the Organising Committee, Union Government, Governments of Assam and Meghalaya, Indian Olympic Association, South Asia Olympic Council, and all the sports federations.

He also specially thanked the people of Assam and Meghalaya and volunteers who rallied around and provided their fullest cooperation, support and enthusiasm making these games a resounding success.

Shri Sarbanand Sonowal Chairman of OC and Minister of State(I/C for Youth Affairs and Sports added that South Asian Games had given to the people of SAARC region to interact with each other, reaffirm the ties of history and culture and foster mutual understanding and develop an unbreakable bond of oneness and togetherness. He hoped that coming together of 8 countries. would pave a way for enhanced economic, social and meaningful cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA and would go a long way in promoting friendship, understanding, peace and prosperity in the SAARC region.

The official closing ceremony, that was attended among others by Nepal sports minister Shri Satya Narayan Mandal and Nepal Olympic Association president Shri Ram Kumar Shrestha, ended with Shri Sonowal and Indian Olympic Association president Shri N Ramachandran handing over the SAG flag to Shri Mandal and Shri Shrestha. The ceremony was also attended by Meghalaya sports minister Shri Zenith Sangma and Union sports ministry secretary Shri Rajiv Yadav, IOA secretary general Shri Rajiv Mehta and a host of dignitaries from the two host states.

Bands from the north eastern region, Still Waters (Sikkim), The Soul Rebels (Arunachal Pradesh), Salvator (Manipur), Boomarang (Mizoram) and Purple Fusion (Nagaland) rocked the stage since afternoon to create the ambience for a befitting end to the mega event.

The cultural show culminated with Bollywood singer Shaan’s performance which was preceded by shows from the legendary Bob Dylan of Meghalaya Lou Majaw, Priyanka Bharali, Dr Sangita Kakati, Mousam Gogoi and Mayukh Hazarika's The Brahmaputa Balladeers and others before a packed crowd.

Athletes from the eight nations -- Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India -- were accompanied by 1200 volunteers into the stadium during the march past.

The Games involved about 4500 participants, including around 2600 athletes, in 22 disciplines held in Guwahati and Shillong. An unprecedented security arrangement ensured a smooth conduct of the 12-day event without any hitch across the two cities of Guwahati and Shillong.