The Hindu : Sport : PM to attend closing ceremony

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Saturday, Feb 17, 2007
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Sport - Sports : General

PM to attend closing ceremony

Special Correspondent

Guwahati : The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 33rd National Games here on Sunday.

Disclosing this at a crowded press conference on Friday, the Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, said the closing function would be as elaborate as the opening ceremony held on February 9.

Besides, the usual elements in a sporting event of this stature, efforts are being made to showcase Assam's cultural heritage and its rich tradition to the outside world.

The Chief Minister said a corpus of Rs. 100 crore would be raised soon to ensure that various infrastructural facilities, created for the Games, are maintained properly. "The fund would be used not only for the maintenance of the various stadiums but also for developing it further so that Assam could host several international events including the SAF Games."

Mr. Gogoi, said that he was pleasantly surprised that most of the winners came from a rural background.

"This only shows that there is a vast amount of talent available in our villages. I hope that all-India rural meets, held every year, would be given priority so that the potential among our youth could be harnessed better."

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president, Suresh Kalmadi, termed the Games as the best ever.

He said that the IOA would be writing to the Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories to introduce prize-money for the medallists of the National Games. "We would like every winner to receive Rs. 5 lakhs, the silver medallist Rs. 3 lakhs and the bronze medallist Rs. 1 lakh," he said.

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