Shillong: Meghalaya capped off a remarkable achievement in athletics today by claiming the title of ‘Overall Champion’ in the athletics events at the 2nd North East Olympic Games 2022.
Meghalaya finished with a whopping 15 gold medals, along with 9 silver and 17 bronze, for a total of 41, making athletics by far the most successful discipline for the host country at NEOG 2022. It is worth noting that at the 1st NEOG 2018 in Manipur, Meghalaya only won 1 gold medal making this achievement, four years later, a truly stunning turnaround, a testament to the efforts of the athletes, coaches, Meghalaya Government, Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Meghalaya Athletics Association (MAA) and others stakeholders.
“Getting the combined title of overall champion is no small feat. It shows the strength and depth of our athletes. Give them the right coaching, nutrition, infrastructure, etc. and we have the potential to produce a national champion,” said MAA Secretary and Secretary General of the Meghalaya State Olympic Association Finely L Pariat.
Assam finished second with 12 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze and Manipur came in third with 10 gold, 14 silver and 9 bronze.
Nagaland collected 9 gold, 4 silver and 10 bronze, while Tripura took 2 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze. Arunachal Pradesh won 1 medal in each category, while Sikkim took home 5 silver and 1 bronze and Mizoram 1 silver.
The victory for Meghalaya means they are just 3 gold medals away from third place Arunachal Pradesh in the NEOG 2022 medals table, as of 8.30pm. Arunachal currently leads 35 to 32. Assam retains the top spot but only just – they currently lead Manipur in terms of gold medals by 71 to 70.
The Best Athlete Award for Men Over 20 was Neiketoulie Belho from Nagaland, the champion in the 100m and long jump. The title in the women’s over-20 category went to N Chaoba Devi from Manipur, who won gold in the 800 and 1500 metres. Arupjyoti Gogoi of Assam was the best athlete among 20 men; he won gold in the 100m and 200m races. Nagaland’s Niansai T was the top athlete among women under 20 for winning the 800m and 1500m.
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