Nagaland State & Para Games begin Nov 2 with 3,000 athletes

The third Nagaland State and Para Games will open on Monday, November 2, bringing together more than 3,000 athletes from all 17 districts of the state for 13 days of competition in Chumoukedima and Dimapur.

The Nagaland Olympic Association (NOA), which is organising the event, announced the programme at a press conference at the Chumoukedima Police Complex on Sunday, Eastern Mirror reported. The games will run until November 14 and cover 14 disciplines.

The biggest sports event in the state

NOA general secretary Abu Metha described the games as the largest sporting gathering in Nagaland by participation. About 1,000 women and nearly 2,000 men have registered as athletes. Counting technical officials, referees, volunteers and support staff, more than 4,000 accredited people are expected to take part.

To manage the numbers, the games will be held in two phases, with seven disciplines in each. Teams from the first phase will leave before the second group of contingents arrives.

Venues

Most events will take place at eight venues inside the Chumoukedima Police Complex, with three more venues outside it:

• Athletics at the synthetic track of Dimapur Stadium.
• Sepaktakraw, wrestling and table tennis at the multi-discipline indoor sports complex in Sovima.
• Lawn tennis at Kuda village, Nagarjan, and pencak silat at the association's own facility in Dimapur.

The State Para Games are being held with the Paralympic Committee and para-sports bodies, under their own rules, at two separate venues. Para football and futsal will be played at the futsal facility of the Regional Centre for Sporting Excellence, which will also host other para events.

Open category, selection platform

All events are open-category, with no separate junior and senior divisions. Metha said the games will also be used to pick Nagaland teams for upcoming competitions, including the North East Olympics and regional championships.

A Games Village has been set up in Chumoukedima with separate accommodation for men and women, round-the-clock medical support, laundry, shops, food outlets and recreation. Committees have been formed for transport, accommodation, medical care and emergency response, while each discipline will be run by its own sports association.

For the first time, the games will also include a seminar-cum-workshop on safeguarding in sport, with national and international resource persons. Metha acknowledged the logistical strain of hosting so many people and asked contingents to cooperate and report any problems so they can be fixed quickly.