Shillong, Oct 16: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, while inaugurating the Basketball Tournament along with local MLA Hamletson Dohling on Saturday at Lawsohtuh, said that a large section of the society is made up of the youth, hence, policies, programs, activities and schemes that are youth centric is the need of the hour.

“Sports is very important and integral part of a youth’s life. Apart from enjoying the game and the physical activities, sports also teaches us many things in life. First and foremost, it teaches us about hard work. Without hard work in life in any area or sphere of life, one will never succeed,” said Sangma while delivering his speech as the chief guest.

“…another thing that sports teaches us is discipline. Even if you work hard but if you do not have the discipline to get up on time, to practice on time, to practice as per the routine and be disciplined in what you are doing, one will never succeed,” he added.

“Life is full of wins and losses, as a sports person one has to learn to be humble on winning and at the same time to be courageous and brave when losing… because in life also there will be many times and occasions we will face challenges. Sometimes we will win and sometimes we will lose, this is the most important lesson that sports teaches us,” he further added.

The tournament organised by the National People’s Youth Front (NPYF) will be played in a knockout format for both Men and Women category. The winner will take away a trophy along with Rs. 50,000 cash and the second place will bag a trophy and Rs. 30,000 cash.