Guwahati: The Manipur Olympian Park was handed to the state’s citizens by Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
Union minister home minister Amit Shah inaugurated the park on January 13 on his most recent trip to Manipur.
All 19 of Manipur’s Olympians were honoured as part of the programme.
There are no words to adequately explain the level of happiness that the first Olympian from Manipur, Pangabam Nilakomol, who played field hockey for India in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, feels over the establishment of the Manipur Olympian Park at Sangaithel.
“Constructing Manipur Olympian Park is indeed great privilege for sports lover of the state. I hope this initiative would surely help Manipur to shine more in the field of sports,” he expressed.
Laishram Sarita Devi, a two-time world champion in boxing and a five-time Asian Games winner, expressed her sincere satisfaction over the creation of the Manipur Olympian Park. “I believe that Manipur Olympian Park is a greatest honour to players of Manipur. This will help to motivate many budding sports players and bring more laurels to the state.”
She recommended keeping the park in good shape so that its beauty and distinctiveness would be enhanced.
N Biren Singh, who was the event’s principal guest, explained that Manipur Olympian Park was created as a tribute to the state’s athletes. Due to the Olympiad being the most important sporting event, the state built a park just for Olympians.
Numerous athletes have won gold medals in local, national, and international sporting competitions. Building a park that also includes all of those medalists would be a difficult task. The state government will, however, offer those medalists suitable jobs in honour of their efforts to elevate Manipur in the sphere of sports, he added.
He added that the state government was unable to offer public employment every year. As a result, 140 players received government jobs in 2007 as a one-time fix. Similar to that, he stated, additional players would be hired in 2023.
He also urged residents of the state to have a feeling of pride and connection to the park in order to preserve the facility’s cleanliness.
The Manipur Olympian Park, the first of its sort in India, is a source of pride for the state, according to Thokchom Radhesyam Singh, president of the Manipur Olympic Association.
He claimed that young people are the state’s commonwealth and that guiding their futures in the proper path can benefit the whole.
He continued, “Promoting sports in the state will undoubtedly help to solve the issue of drug scourge in the state.”
Most of the cabinet ministers, MLAs, and senior officials were present for the occasion.