Tura, April 20: The Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA) has decided to temporarily postpone the STAR Talent Identification program due to the heatwave and holidays notification issued by the District Administration in West Garo Hills and will reschedule the remainder of the program in May2023.
The MSOA was forced to take the break because of the heat wave, right after it had conducted 3 days of trials in remote corners of the district. The MSOA in collaboration with the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Meghalaya, conducted its ongoing sports talent identification program in West Garo Hills on April 18, 19, and 20, 2023.
On April 18, the event was held at St. John Mary Vianney Sec. School, Chokchokia, 13 kms from Selsella C&RD Block, on April 19 at Kristu Jyoti Secondary School, Tikrikilla C&RD Block- 1 km from the market, and on April 20 at St Alphonsa school, Tikrikilla C& RD Block.
During the second phase, out of 10,000 athletes, 7300 athletes were tested at the C&RD Block level. Ian Campbell, Olympian (Australia), expressed his satisfaction with the talent ID analysis, stating that the talent seen from the test has gone beyond his expectations.
Additionally, 172 Elite Pathway Program (EPP) athletes who were selected based on digital rankings from Phase-1 are continuing with their daily training supervised by local coaches and monitored and supervised by the Olympian and his tech team.
In a press statement, MSOA Working President John F Kharshiing said a number of athletes with outstanding performances have been identified by the MSOA Team with the help of international technology and knowledge transfer. He also expressed MSOA team’s gratefulness to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma for the support towards this important milestone for Sports and Youth Affairs in Meghalaya.
Logistical challenges in Garo Hills
However, the MSOA team faced tremendous challenges in terms of logistics, such as accommodation. Fortunately, the mission schools provided some accommodation in the remote border areas. Despite these challenges, the MSOA team remains motivated to produce Olympians from Meghalaya.
Although the testing event faced logistical challenges such as the unavailability of proper grounds for testing venues, extreme heat, and power cuts, the team is thankful for the dedication of the government officials posted in these remote areas.
Despite the challenging conditions, some exceptional talents were discovered during the testing event in the heatwave. The MSOA team remains committed to giving the kids interested in sports a nudge and a chance to climb the first step and get into the EPP, just like the 172 kids from Phase-1, Kharshiing said.
He informed that one of the challenges was to find an acceptable venue, such as a properly cemented basketball court, which fortunately was available in the Mission Schools.
Despite the challenges, he said the MSOA team remains dedicated to producing international global Olympic athletes. He further expressed his appreciation to the 20-member MSOA Testing team and Dipshon Rynthathiang, Chairman, MSOA, Podium Finish Committee, for their commitment towards this very challenging sports talent identification program.
