Guwahati and Shillong to host the 2016 South Asian Games

10/28/2015

India will host the 2016 South Asian Games (SAG) in Guwahati and Shillong between 6 to 16 February, 2016, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told the media on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir will host the 2016 South Asian Rugby 7'S Championship.

"There would be 25 disciplines, with 17 of them scheduled to be held in Guwahati and eight in Meghalaya's capital city Shillong," Gogoi told the media in a press conference, alongside Indian Olympic Association General Secretary Rajiv Mehta.

This will be the third time India will host this bi-annual multi-sport event, since it started back in 1984, but this is the first time Assam and Meghalaya will host an international event of this scale. "It is a matter of pride that Assam and Meghalaya will host an international event of this scale for the first time in the region," Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said while inaugurating a training workshop for workforce of the Games secretariat in Guwahati.

The event will return after a hiatus of six years with Bangladesh hosting the last SAG back in 2010, where India finished at the top of medal tally. Delhi was originally set to host the 2013 SAG, after it was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. However, the event was cancelled after it ran into multiple hardships, including the ban of the Indian Committee by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the deterioration in Indo-Pak relationships.

Sports Minister Sonowal has urged the Assam and Meghalaya authorities to create a hospitable atmosphere for the 4000 athletes that will arrive for the event. The member countries of South Asian Olympic Council, at a meeting in Chennai on October 11, had decided that tennis would be a new addition to the existing 22 disciplines.

South Asian Rugby 7'S Championship in Kashmir valley

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir will host the 2016 South Asian Rugby 7'S Championship. "Kashmir valley will host South Asian Rugby 7'S Championship in 2016," Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Youth Service and Sports Molvi, Imran Ansari, said during the 131st Standing Committee meeting of J-K State Sports Council.

Eight nations will participate in this event, which will be held at the Bakhshi Stadium from June 18 to June 20 next year.