Strengthening Sports in North East: A Unified Approach Proposed

Focused Strategy for Sports Development

Imphal, Dec 31: Union Minister for DoNER, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, has advocated for a strategic and practical method to enhance sports in the North East, introducing the idea of ‘One Sport, One State’.

Scindia participated in the fourth high-level task force meeting aimed at promoting sports in the North Eastern region through a video conference, alongside Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Tuesday.

He emphasized the significance of quality coaching, talent scouting, and grassroots competitions, supporting the establishment of organized tournaments from village to state levels, along with the development of discipline-specific case studies for each state.

Attendees included the Mizoram Sports Minister, the Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Chief Secretary of Manipur, and senior officials from various North Eastern states, as well as the DoNER and state sports departments.

The Governor of Manipur remarked that targeted training, talent cultivation, and local leagues would create more opportunities for young athletes throughout the region, as per a press release from the Governor’s Secretariat.

Subsequently, the Manipur Lok Bhavan shared images from the meeting on X, stating, “The Governor of Manipur, together with the Union Minister of DoNER, co-chaired a High-Level Task Force Meeting on promoting sports in the North Eastern Region via video conferencing. The discussions centered on enhancing sports infrastructure, improving coaching and talent identification systems, fostering grassroots competitions, and broadening inclusive opportunities for young athletes to cultivate sporting excellence sustainably.”

During the previous month’s third meeting of the task force, the Union DoNER Minister had reiterated the ‘One Sport Discipline – One State’ approach as a crucial element for structured and focused investment in sports development within the North East.