After Guwahati successfully organised the South Asian Games last year, Assam's major city is all set to host the Himalayan Region Games from April 21 to 30, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced here on Thursday.
Besides hosts India, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, Afghanistan have confirmed their participation in the Games which will have athletes taking part in various sporting disciplines like archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, football, judo, kho-kho, squash, table tennis and weightlifting.
IOA Executive Council member Dhanraj Chaudhary was appointed chairman for the Games Technical Conduct Committee.
Announcing the venue of the Games, IOA President N. Ramamchandran said: "It is great that we are hosting the Himalayan Games in Guwahati this year since the north-east region of our country has given the world many great sports legends. We want to make sports as popular as possible in every part of the country and build the legacy of sports."
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Rajeev Mehta, IOA Secretary General, said: " We are hoping to put up a great show."
He said, "The government has extended its support in helping us make sports popular in the Himalayan region as well. The events planned to take place during the sports meet will encourage more and more people to come forward and take part in sports. This will also help make sports a part of life in every Indian."
--IANS
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