New Delhi, 29 March (MTNews): The Northeast of India may have provided numerous stars to the country from various sporting disciplines but the region needs investment in sporting infrastructure to harness the abundant talent on offer there, Abu Metha, advisor to the Nagaland Chief Minister and Associate Vice President of the Athletics Federation of India said at the Sportstar National Sports Conclave on Monday.
He said the government of India and corporate entities needed to invest heavily in sports in the region.
“The northeast is a talent bank of sports for the country and the fact that people of the region are naturally athletic does not need elaboration” he said, adding that sports and games is a way of life for the northeastern people.
“Everywhere you go, you will find people, young and old, playing different sports, but unfortunately the lack of good infrastructure, quality human resource and an ecosystem of sporting development were the hurdles restricting the youth from performing better,” he added.
Metha emphasized that the youth of the region are greatly challenged by many factors including insurgency and violence; however, he said, sports provided a platform for the youth to contribute towards nation building. He called for a rethink on the part of the Government of India on the funding pattern for sports infrastructure which was earlier 90:10 supported by the Centre.
“Those in positions in Delhi must not have a one size fits all approach for the whole country but understand the dynamics of the region and formulate policy accordingly,” he said.
Metha further called upon the corporates and industries sector to increase its support for the sports sector in the north east. “The corporate should not only view it from the angle of optics and eyeballs on televisions but also look at it from the perspective of nation building and contributions towards bringing the region closer to the mainstream through sports,” he stated.
Metha also called upon the national federations to do more in the northeast. Towards this end, he expressed satisfaction that the BCCI was doing excellent work while the Athletics Federation of India has undertaken several initiatives in the northeast by way of bringing national and international events to the NE, education programs and capacity building. He highlighted that the South Asian Cross Country Championships hosted in Nagaland was a grand success with athletes from the region winning medals.
According to a release by the Nagaland Olympic Association, Metha expressed confidence that if given the appropriate infrastructure and support system, the success rate of the north east would greatly increase and youth of the region would make India shine brighter.
The conclave was organized by India’s only sports periodical magazine The Sportstar and The Hindu.