FOREWORD

Raheem, Sri Lankan track and field athlete
Hishama Eashan, the impressive performance
of the Pakistan Hockey Team, the stupendous
performance of Nepal Men’s football team and the
performance of Afghanistan in Taekwondo being
the ones that caught the imagination of one and all.
When the curtains were drawn on the Games in
a colourful Closing Ceremony on 16th February
2016 and the Flag for the conduct of the next South
Asian Games was passed on to Nepal. The 12th
South Asian Games 2016 were widely hailed as
the best South Asian Games ever held and had
left a lasting impression on the minds of everyone
who witnessed this history in the making. The
successful conduct of the Games is to be seen in the
context of record time in which it was executed.
It was barely six months before the scheduled
commencement date of the event, when the two
cities Guwahati and Shillong were finalised as
venues. Games of this scale generally take at least
two years to execute if not more. All the initial
skepticism about the capacity of Guwahati and
Shillong to host the Games was put to rest by
the combined efforts of all the stakeholders who
worked on a war footing to make the Games
possible. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Chairman of
the Organising Committee and Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports,
with the support and guidance of Hon’ble Prime
Minister of India, played a key role in bringing
various Ministries/Departments of Government
of India, public sector undertakings, Governments
of Assam and Meghalaya and other key players
together to deliver the best ever South Asian
Games. Full support was received from Shri Tarun
Gogoi, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and
Shri Mukul Sangma, the Hon’ble Chief Minister
of Meghalaya, the Indian Olympic Association
(IOA), the National Sports Federations (NSFs)
and the officials of the Government of India,
the Government of Assam, the Government of
Meghalaya and the Sports Authority of India
(SAI) who worked in tandem to make the Games a
resounding success.
The icing on the cake was the resolution passed
by the Union Cabinet in a meeting chaired by
the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 17th February
2016 about the successful conduct of the Games
and the address of the Hon’ble President to the
joint session of the Parliament on 23rd February
2016 where he mentioned that “India has
successfully hosted the 12th South Asian Games
at Guwahati and Shillong in which more than
3,500 sportspersons from all the SAARC countries
participated”.
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12 th SOUTH ASIAN GAMES | POST GAMES REPORT