The President of India, Droupadi Murmu on Monday inaugurated the 5th Edition of the Meghalaya Games in Tura, Meghalaya.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the North East region has a tremendous potential for development of sports and sportspersons. She noted that this region traditionally has a strong sports culture.
The President said that diversity is the beauty of our nation and we should utilise it to further boost India’s global image in the sports arena. She emphasized the need to support the talent from the tribal areas and groom them to become professional sportspersons.
The President was happy to note that the society of North East encourages women to play and join sports as a profession. She said that the North East region has produced many great women athletes. She also underlined the potential of adventure sports and adventure tourism in this region and the need to explore and leverage it on priority.
The President said that India’s sporting culture has developed immensely in recent years. With Government’s new initiatives and encouragement to the athletes, Indian sportspersons are now winning more medals than ever in global events. Programmes such as Khelo India are helping in identifying and nurturing future sports champions. She said that India has also demonstrated its ability to host large scale international sporting and other events.
The President urged children and youth to learn at least one sport and participate in sports activities. She said that they may or may not adopt sports as a career but playing together will inculcate team spirit and competitiveness in their personality apart from keeping them physically and mentally fit.
The President said that the decision of the government to hold these games in different parts of the state is a welcome step and would ensure wider reach of such events among masses. She expressed confidence that the events like Meghalaya Games will encourage athletes for excellence, promote competitiveness and create a vibrant sporting ecosystem.
Earlier in the inaugural programme, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma called the day historic. He said the event “is not just a sports event but this is the future of our young generation and our youth and, therefore, this is not a simple event for us but it is a very meaningful and a very important event in the history of our state.”
Highlighting his government’s focus, he said, “As a state government, we have been very, very clear in our vision and in our approach to ensure that we value the greatest asset and the resource that we have, which is the youth of our state and the youth of our nation. We believe in investing in our youth, in ensuring that we channelize their energy in the right direction. We believe in giving the right opportunity to our youth. We believe that these programs, these games that we have, the different festivals that we have, these are important investments in our youth and the returns of this will be there for generations to come. And that is why, Madam, your presence has made this particular event even more meaningful.”
In conclusion, he emphasised that the event is a celebration of the state’s youth, celebration of its culture and a symbol of the unity of the state.
Earlier, while welcoming the President, CM’s wife Mehtab Sangma presented her the welcome gifts that included games’ souvenir, dakmanda, handmade Eri Silk Saree made by artisans of Garo hills.
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