GUWAHATI: Lack of infrastructures is a major hurdle in the promotion of sports in parts of the Northeast. Among N-E states lagging behind in the sporting arena are Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and even Tripura, home state of gymnast Dipa Karmakar. Every state has a department of sports with separate budget, but facilities have remained a far cry. These four states are way behind in terms of infrastructure. As such, they have not been able to groom and nurture talents.
Nagaland was once known for its legendary footballer Dr T Ao. Football is still the most popular sports in the state, yet it is no match for states such as Manipur and Mizoram. Nagaland Olympic Association president Neiphiu Rio, who is also the chief minister, blames it on the lack of infrastructure. Ironically, he had served as the CM for 11 years (2003-14) on the trot in his first stint.
Forget improving the facilities, even the existing infrastructure is crumbling. There are some stadia in state capital Kohima and commercial hub Dimapur, but they have not been developed in years.“Because of the unresolved Naga political problem, there is a distraction of mind. Also, there are no investors and no industries. No corporate people are coming forward. It is not that the Nagas are bad at sports, but there are no resources and infrastructure. In 2007, Nagaland participated for the first time in the National Games and won 11 medals. Then, the slide began,” Rio told The Sunday Standard.
He, however, claimed steps had been taken to improve the situation.
“I have sought a one-time grant from the Central government for infrastructure development. We are introducing a sports policy and identifying some priortised disciplines. In an insurgency-troubled state like ours, we have to give opportunities to the youth to be positive. We have decided to set up Dr T Ao football academy. The North Eastern Council has come forward to help. We are looking for some CSR group to help us,” the CM said.
Bamang Tago, secretary of the Badminton Association of Arunachal, too, blames it on the lack of infrastructure. Lack of interest among parents is another hindrance to the promotion of sports in the state. Also, most people live in rural areas and connectivity is a serious problem, he says.
“We are entirely dependent on the Central government. There are no PSUs or industrial units to partially take care of our sportspersons. The absence of infrastructure and technical know-how are reasons why we have not been able to compete at the national level. We have just one stadium in state capital Itanagar. We need a multi-purpose stadium in each district headquarters. We were also hit by the lack of sports policies. The present government has formulated one. Hopefully, it will work,” Tago said.