Guwahati: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi opened on February 5 the 12th South Asian Games (SAG) in the presence of the governors and chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya at Guwahati, commercial capital of Assam. The events will conclude on February 16.
Originally scheduled for 2012, the multi-discipline event encompassing competitions in 23 disciplines and 241 events will be held in two cities, Guwahati and Shillong, capital of neighboring Meghalaya state. A record turnout of about 3,325 athletes and officials from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, besides India, are participating in the events.
Unique to SAG 2016 was participating teams carrying water from one of the rivers from their respective countries in urns to indicate the oneness of the people of these nations bound by sport. This act jelled with the Games motto — Peace, Prosperity and Progress — and the spirit in which these Games were established way back in 1984 at Kathmandu.
Speeches by Indian Olympic Association president N. Ramachandran, federal Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbananda Sonowal, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi preceded the formal inauguration of the Games by the Indian prime minister.
Addressing a crowd of over 35,000 spectators Modi said the Games being held are not just a sporting platform but a “springboard for bringing peace and prosperity in the region through business.”
Modi said that the event signifies three T’s — Teamwork, Togetherness and Talent, and urged youngsters to be as smart and intelligent as ‘Tikhor,’ the young one-horned rhino, the mascot of the Games.
The prime minister also recalled the legendary Assamese singer and composer of theme song of the Games, “Ei Prithibi Ek Krirangan” (The world is a playground) by the late Bhupen Hazarika.
He expressed the hope that the prestigious U-17 Football World Cup, to be held in Guwahati in 2017, will also be organized in a befitting manner.
India is hosting SAG third time after Kolkata in 1987 and Chennai in 1995 and for the first time in the country’s northeastern region. Bangladesh capital Dhaka hosted the last edition in 2010 and India had a tally of a whopping 175 medals out of 528 on offer, including 90 gold out of 157, to hold on to regional superpower status.
Guwahati will host 16 disciplines including athletics, basketball, cycling, football, handball, hockey, kabaddi, kho-kho, shooting, squash, swimming, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling and men’s football. The rest of the eight disciplines — archery, badminton, boxing, women’s football, judo, table tennis, taekwondo and wushu — will be held in Shillong.
Through the last 11 editions, India has been virtually unstoppable haul of 1,728 medals — 900 gold, 542 silver and 286 bronze — leaving second-placed Pakistan (1,022, 311-375-336) and Sri Lanka (928, 185-245-455) in third far behind.
Sports fans expect India to come up this time too with yet another record haul, the more keenly watched race will be the one for second spot involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Without a Games Village to house the more than athletes, officials, administrators and technical officials, Guwahati is grappling with logistical nightmare. Ferrying them to venues from over 80 hotels is a scenario that is giving sleepless nights to organizers, even as they realize that any sort of delay can result in postponement of an event and disrupt the entire day’s schedule.
What will add to the confusion is that a contingent is not staying in one designated hotel but spread across the city. For example, the Pakistan sportspersons – 134 in all – are scattered across eight different hotels. Afghanistan’s much smaller squad of 49 has been accommodated in four different hotels while India which has the largest contingent is in nine different locations, including the campus of a school.
The flawless cultural show had two part — one showcasing Northeast and the other about composite India. Famous Assamese singer Zubeen Garg left the spectators in awe with his rendition ‘All of you oh brothers’.
This was followed by unique dances of the eight northeastern Indian states, including ‘pung cholom’ and ‘Ras Leela’ dance of Manipur, Naga dance and bamboo dance of Mizoram. But the most applauded item was Assamese ‘Bihu’ dance (harvesting festival dance) of the host state.
Then the well-known ‘Shillong Chamber Choir’ performed its own version of ‘Vande Mataram’. The India part of the cultural show had themes of an advancing country with big strides in technology and digital communication. India’s artificial satellite Mangalayan was shown at the background with artists performing on A R Rehman’s ‘Jay Ho’. They formed a moon shape with the three colors of Indian flag forming the circle.
There were also dance performances of other Indian states together.
Then cycle riders came out amid a sea of breathtaking laser lights followed by performers making alien like creatures at the central platform to the huge cheers from the crowd. The grand 2 hours 45 minute show ended with a second time rendition of theme song ‘Ei Prithvi ek krirangan.’
Photo caption: Dignitaries at the colorful opening ceremony of the 12th South Asian Games 2016 at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Friday.