ITANAGAR, July 13 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Sports and Youth Affairs minister Mama Natung Thursday said the northeastern state has the potential to become a sports powerhouse in the country.
Speaking at the 5th National Junior Boxing Championship here, the minister thanked the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for giving the state the opportunity to host the sporting event in the state capital.
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“I am thankful to the Boxing Federation of India for giving us the opportunity to host the national event in the state and also thank the Arunachal Amateur Boxing Association (AABA) for conducting the event successfully,” Natung said.
The minister expressed hope that the state is now capable of hosting any national tournament and termed the boxing meet as a good platform for youngsters.
“We gave our best efforts so that the championship becomes a success. I think this championship has provided a good platform to all the junior boxers of the country who will be representing India in major international tournaments in the future,” Natung added.
On the sports scene of Arunachal, he said that the state has improved vastly especially after Pema Khandu took charge as chief minister.
The players of the state need some technical guidance, he observed.
“I must say, Arunachal has talents in boxing and other sports but what they need is some technical guidance so that they can advance to the next level. Here, I would like to mention that since Pema Khandu took charge of the state as chief minister, our players have won 900 medals and out of those 81 medals came in various international events,” he said.
Elaborating on the government’s ‘Mission Olympic’ roadmap, Natung said that the chief minister has instructed the Sports department to select 4-5 disciplines and work on that by including these in various academies.
“This is an effort to bring out talents and groom them for a better future. We are also trying our best so that there is no dearth in the infrastructure,” he added.
Natung also appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in giving more focus to the Northeast states.
