GUWAHATI, JULY 27: The Assam Youth Olympics, 2022 – a maiden six day multi-disciplinary sporting extravaganza – comes to an end with a colourful closing ceremony held at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati today. With a packed schedule of sporting events, as many as 4200 athletes took part in this maiden sporting extravaganza spreading across more than 35 sports. The event, organised & conducted by the Assam Olympic Association, under the aegis of Department of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Assam,was an attempt to provide a professional platform for the upcoming talent from the Grassroot levels to perform and excel for better sporting milestones in the future. Many talents – hence identified during the events – shall be honed & trained enabling them for better performance at both national & international sporting events in the future.
The closing ceremony event was graced by the Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush and President of Assam Olympics Association (AOA), Sarbananda Sonowal. Jogen Mohan, Minister, Govt of Assam; Mrigen Sarania, Mayor, Guwahati Municipality Corporation (GMC), MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi, MLA Hemanga Thakuria, General Secretary of AOA, Lakhya Konwar, Arjuna Awardees Monalisha Baruah and Kamlesh Mehta, Allen Deuri and Ankushita Boro were also present. They were accompanied by senior officials of the Government of Assam & Government of India, officials from the apex sporting bodies as well as the volunteers, support staff and public witnessed a glittering closing ceremony as the gala event comes to an end.
Many gritty & promising performance by the athletes enthralled both the audience as well as the sporting fraternity. More than 50,000 people came to cheer & encourage the players during these days across 13 venues across Guwahati where these games were held. The athletes came from all the 35 districts of Assam.
At the end of the Games, the Guwahati team reigned supreme at the medals tally with a whopping haul of 219 medals. The team won 74 Gold medals, 75 Silver medals and 70 Bronze medals, thereby sealing the top spot. Guwahati Sports District was adjudged Best District winning a prize money of Rupees One Lakh.
The second spot was won by Sivsagar District team with a total haul of 69 medals including 25 Gold, 22 Silver and 22 Bronze medals. The Sivsagar District team was awarded a prize money of Rupees Seventy-Five Thousands for their consistent performance during the event. The third sport in the Top 3 Districts of the Games was won by Dibrugarh with a total medal haul of 76 including 24 Gold, 23 Silver and 29 Bronze. The team was awarded a prize money of Rupees Fifty-Thousand for their spirited performance.
For the players of the tournament, THREE players were selected for their spectacular performance – Upasha Talukdar of Kamrup for winning FOUR Gold medals in Gymansatics; Bivanjyoti Laskar of Morigaon for his remarkable performance in football and Jahnabi Kashyap of Guwahati for delivering a stupendous swimming performance.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, said, “The Assam Youth Olympic has brought back the spirit of sportsmanship post COVID pandemic. The Commonwealth Games is starting from tomorrow. I extend my best wishes to all the players of the Indian contingent, especially those from Assam. Sports is one of the strongest mediums to unify the society. While sports has been part of our daily lives, it has now become a viable and good career option. Lovleena, Hima Das, Ankushita Boro and many others have come from our villages. The Assam Youth Olympics will help scout similar talents from the grassroot level. The government is working together with the society to scout talent and train them. During the Government of Sarbananda Sonowal, for the first time, a sports policy was introduced. Following that, we are taking subsequent steps with an aim to build a strong sports environment. The government is working to build a well equipped stadium in all of our 126 constituencies. I want to thank and commend the Assam Olympic Association for taking the onus towards building a healthy and strong sporting environment. Sports plays a very important role in shaping a healthy thought process of the youth, away from negativities like the menace of drugs.”
Lauding the success of Assam Youth Olympics, Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (PSW) & Ayush; and President, Assam Olympic Association (AOA), said, “Let me congratulate all the athletes and their support team for their exhilarating performance at this wonderful platform. Their performance gives us hope – of a faster, higher, stronger tomorrow. These games have not only given hope & a platform to the athletes from the grassroot to elevate their game for a better performance tomorrow, but it also gives a flip to the vision of Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji to build a sporting nation and one that celebrates sports. We all know how sports can help boost our physical and mental health. The success of Assam Youth Olympics can be seen in reinvigorated sporting environment in the state, swaying the youth towards the brighter positive side of life.”
The Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur could not attend the event in person. However, he sent a message saying that the Assam Youth Olympics would contribute greatly to make Assam & the Northeast as a major sports hub.
The Assam Youth Olympics, 2022 is yet another step in the recent years to promote the culture of fitness and sports among people at large. It must be mentioned that this is the first time that state level olympic association has geared itself to scout the Grassroot talent through an extravagant sporting event that has provided a common platform for the players to showcase their talent and the apex sporting bodies to identify talent that can be groomed for future prospects at national and international level events. Given the mammoth expanse of the event, the success of the event manifests the resolve of the team – the Assam Olympic Association – to continue delivering a professional, productive and proficient opportunity for sportspersons to showcase their talent & highlight the importance of such event for the benefit of athletes from the interiors & villages of Assam and India.
Adding further, Sarbananda Sonowal, President, Assam Olympic Association, said, “We are very happy that we have successfully organised this grand sporting event in Assam. This will go a long way to provide a launch pad for the players and athletes from the interiors and villages of Assam. While the talent is scouted at this event, their future in sports can be honed with better training and exposure so that they are ready to bring laurels for the country. The beautiful thing of sports is that it inspires – not only the players but all those who are associated with it, be it the coach, the administrator or the spectator. The success of the Assam Youth Olympics will go a long way to add to the many initiatives of the government like TOPS, Khelo India, Fit India Movement to build further inroads towards building a healthier nation.”
Major highlights from Day 6 at the Assam Youth Olympics, 2022 are mentioned as below:
Athletics
Long Jump: IN the boys category, Indramani Patar of Guwahati won the Gold with a jump of 6.52 meters. Pinku Kumar Ray of Barpeta won the Silver while the Bronze went to Kumar Chintrom Kashyap of Nalbari. In the girls category, the Gold went Parijat Doley of Dhemaji with a 4.67 meters distance while Munmun Chetia of Tinsukia won the Silver and Bondita Das of Guwahati for the Bronze.
Javelin Throw: Rohan Pegu of Majuli threw a distance of 51.62 meters to win the Gold in the Boys category.
In the 200 Meters (Girls), the Gold went to Rimjim Saikia of Guwahati while Nikumoni Pathak of Guwahati won the Silver. The Bronze went to Chayanika Gogoi of Sivsagar.
In the 1500 meters (Girls), Sangmir Teronpi of Karbi Anglong won the Gold while Parinita Bhuyan of Guwahati won the Silver. In the 1500 meters (Boys), the gold went to Indibor Hazarika of Lakhimpur. The Silver went to Dhoromeshor Gonju of Jorhat.
Boxing (Men): Chitra Raj Limbu of Sonitpur was adjudged Best Boxer Men of the event.
In the 46-48 Kg, Chitra Raj Limbu won the Gold. Rahul Gurung of Tinsukia won the Gold in the 48-51 kg category. In the 51-54 kgs category, Chandan Narzary of Kokrajhar won the Gold. In the 54-57 kgs category, Abhoy Chetri of Kamrup won the Gold. In the 57-60 kgs category, Biswajit Barman of Kokrajhar won the Gold. Abinash Doley of Kokrajhar won the Gold in the 60-63.5 kgs category. For the 67-71 kgs category, Hemanta Chetri of Guwahati won the Gold. For the 71 to 75 kgs category, Sibunath Duwara of Kamrup won the Gold.
Boxing (Women): Sujuma Boro of Kamrup was adjudged as the Best Boxer Women of the event.
In the 45 to 48 kgs category, Sujuma Boro won the Gold while Mary Moran of Guwahati won the Gold in the 48-50 kgs category. Rwisumwi Bala Basumatary of Kokrajhar won the Gold in the 50-52 kgs category while Mainaw Boro of Kokrajhar won the Gold in the 52-54 kgs category. In the 54-57 kgs category, Sumitra Brahma of Kokrajhar won the Gold while Manalisha Basumatary of Kokrajhar won the Gold in the 57-60 kgs category. In the 63-66 kgs, Karishma Singha of Guwahati won the Gold while Nomi Bora of Golaghat won the Gold in 66-70 kgs category.
Shooting
In the 10 Meters Air Pistol, the Gold went to Asmit Paul of Guwahati in the Boys category while in the Girls category, the Gold was won by Basudha Gautam Das of Guwahati. In the 10 Meters Air Rifle, the Gold went to Mrigaqshya Baruah of Guwahati for the Boys Category while in the Girls category, the Gold went to Shreyasi Mazumdar of Guwahati.
Handball: Baksa won the Gold by thumping Sonitpur, who had to settle for Silver at the finals today. The Gold for Girls Handball was won by Sivsagar as they beat Baksa, who settled for the Silver.
Volleyball: In the boys final, Jorhat trumped Barpeta to win the Gold while the latter settled for Silver. In the Girls final, Guwahati won the Gold as they beat Dibrugarh who settled for Silver.
Rugby: In the Girls final, Nalbari won the Gold beating Udalguri with a score line of 15- 5. In the Boys final, Charaideo won the Gold against Tamulpur with a final score of 10-05.
Sepak Takrow: In the Boys final, Karbi Anglong won the Gold.In the Girls final, Hailakandi won the Gold.
Hockey: In the men’s final, Nagaon won the Gold as Guwahati had to settle for the Silver.