The coming of the second edition of the North East Olympic Games may be exciting to some but for others fears emerge that the event will repeat some of the horror stories of this year’s Meghalaya Games in May.
That sporting event began under a cloud after athletes’ photos of disgusting accommodation and facilities led to a furore and quick damage control by the Chief Minister himself.
At the curtain raiser of the NEOG 2022, Conrad K Sangma sounded a note of optimism that such mistakes will not be repeated.
When a reporter questioned if this would be another disaster and how confident was the government that this big event will be a success, Sangma responded that negative thinking is unhelpful as that in itself would amount to failure.
The CM explained that the Meghalaya Games were revived after 16 years.
“Our athletes suffered and never got an opportunity. And hence for the first time, the fact that these Games were organised, that itself was a very big step and the Meghalaya State Olympic Association and the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs must be congratulated for taking this step and are moving forward with it,” Sangma said.
Concerning the challenges, Sangma emphasised that challenges will always be there and one cannot stop doing things just because challenges arise.
Hoping that the MSOA has learned a lot from the Meghalaya Games held this year, Sangma was positive that they will improve and will make sure that they make it better.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be perfect. It’s a very big event with 3,000 athletes coming and Meghalaya has not done this kind of large programme for a very long time. Therefore, multiple problems and challenges will be there,” he added.
