The inaugural Mizoram Sports Conclave 2024 underlined the state’s vision to lift the standard of sports within its boundaries and help it produce top-class athletes for the 2036 Olympics, which the country aspires to host.
Inaugurating the conclave, Chief Minister Lalduhoma said, “This is the first national-level sports conclave with the vision of developing world class athletes to excel for India in the 2036 Olympics.”
“Today, we are not merely attending a conclave; we are starting a journey together – to prepare our athletes to compete with the best in the world. This is the first national-level sports conclave with the vision of developing world-class athletes to excel for India in the 2036 Olympics,” he added.
The two-day event was also graced by Sports Ministers of Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya, Lalnghinglova Hmar, Nandita Garlosa and Shakliar Warjri, respectively. Top sportspersons and senior officials of various National Federations were among prominent attendees of the conclave, who discussed different aspects of sports promotion.
“I wanted Mizoram’s medals tally to increase in the National Games. Since India is bidding for the 2036 Olympics, we want to be part of this. We have to prepare our athletes now. A 10-year-old kid will be 22 years of age by 2036. For that, you need to start somewhere. So this conclave came,” Hmar said.
During a panel discussion, moderated by Sportstar Editor Ayon Sengupta, Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) president Sahdev Yadav stressed that there should be a check on age fraud and doping.
“Earlier there was 70 per cent age fraud (in weightlifting). This is the reason why only 0.5 per cent of the talented youth become successful at the elite level. We have taken some steps to check this,” said Yadav, who is also the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) treasurer.
“Doping is another big issue. We have started taking action against the coaches. We recently suspended 10 coaches and will suspend 10 more.”
Former National Champion and Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary Kamlesh Mehta saw the athletes’ access to sports science and sports psychology as a positive development. “Earlier, if an athlete used to seek a psychologist’s help, people used to say, ‘Have you some psychological issue?’”
All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey was happy to note the increased participation of Mizoram footballers at the National level. “If boys can play, why not the girls?” said Chaubey.
Chaubey, who is the IOA joint secretary, said states like Assam and Uttarakhand had shown interest in hosting the National Games and the IOA was trying to find a window to facilitate the participation of top athletes to make it more attractive.
Boxing Federation of India (BFI) secretary Hemanta Kalita said the national body had been taking steps to spread boxing. On Parveen Hooda’s whereabouts failure and the resultant loss of Olympic quota place, Kalita said the BFI would be more careful about such issues.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) vice-president Asit Saha said wrestling activities were getting back on track after a year’s disturbance.
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