The closing ceremony here at the India Gandhi Stadium on Tuesday brought the curtain down on the 12th South Asian Games.
Twelve days of competition saw action in 22 disciplines —15 in Guwahati and seven in Shillong — and the awarding of 789 medals to athletes representing the eight participating nations.
Nepal was introduced as the host of the 13th edition of the Games in 2018 and the flag of the Games was ceremoniously handed over to Jeevan Ram Shreshtha, the president of the organising committee of SAG, Nepal by the Indian Olympic Association president N. Ramachandran.
Taking a break from the tradition, the celebrations started almost three hours early from the scheduled time. Bands and singers from the Eight Sisters performed in turns as the stadium filled up to its capacity. After Rajiv Mehta, the secretary general of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had explained how the Games opened the doors of the North-East to excellence in sports, the secretary, Union Ministry of Sports, Rajiv Yadav, sought to congratulate the organisers on the success of the event despite generating ‘scepticism’ from various quarters when the Games were allotted to Assam and Meghalaya.
Congratulating his minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Yadav said the games created history with its successful hosting making and made the North East a future venue for more such events.
The IOA president, N. Ramachandran said, “the 12th edition was the best South Asian Games ever conducted.”There were also performances by Nepali artists as the future host of the games and rendition from Mayukh Hazarika and the Bramhaputra Balladiers.
