Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Saturday extended his best wishes to all the athletes from the state participating in the 38th National games and motivated them to bring laurels for the state, and said the state has produced 19 Olympians.
The Chief Minister attending the blessing ceremony of the Manipur state contingent participating in the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand from January 28, said that the unprecedented ethnic crisis in the state might have caused trouble in following the routine of players.
“One can achieve real success only after overcoming all the hurdles of life,” he said.
Saturday’s programme, held in Imphal, was organised jointly by the Manipur Olympics Association and the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Chief Minister expressed proud feeling on learning that a large number of athletes are representing the state in the National game.
Singh maintained that Manipur has been known globally for its contributions to the field of sports and the arts and culture.
The Chief Minister added that the state has produced 19 Olympians and further encouraged the players of the state, adding that the government had constructed Manipur Olympian Park at Sangaithel honouring the contributions of sportspersons.
He informed that the government in its recent cabinet meeting held at Tamenglong had, in principle, taken a decision to provide government jobs to gold medal winners of the National Games.
Singh further maintained that the government had always been developing the sports infrastructure and acquiring modern equipment according to the needs, informing that upgrading work of the velodrome with a cost of Rs 7 crore is going on.
The Chief Minister stated that for a sportsperson to achieve success in their career, maintaining discipline and hard work must be the utmost priority.
He advised players never to feel dejected. He also stated that there should be no room for biases in the selection process in the field of games and sports, adding that it would lower the spirit of young players.
Around 400 athletes from Manipur will participate in 19 disciplines in the upcoming National Games and 76 officials of the Manipur Olympics Association will be accompanying them.
In another event, the Chief Minister distributed advanced prosthetic devices including State-of-the-Art Myoelectric Hands and Motorized Wheelchairs, for persons with Disabilities (PwDs) at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Saturday.
Singh said that under the ‘Chief Minister-gi Sotharabasingi Tengbang’ scheme, a sum of Rs 1500 each has been provided to around 9,000 otherwise abled persons as a part of assistance.
(IANS)
