Guwahati, Jul 1 (PTI) Former Olympian Dilip Tirkey Saturday stressed on the need for motivating youngsters to pursue sports to take it forward.
It is important to help children identify their field of interest in sports based on their fitness and interest and encourage them so that they emerge successful in the future, he said at the closing ceremony of year-long centenary celebration of sports journalism in Assam.
"We need to focus on the grassroots for the future of sports. I feel the grassroots identification of talent and honing is neglected generally. There is a need to motivate children to take up sports," the former Indian hockey team captain said.
On the sports scenario in Assam, Tirkey said women from the state have been performing well for the past few years.
"There is Lovlina, who has won at the Olympics which is always a big thing. Hima is another popular sportsperson from here ... Others like Amlan are also emerging as champions.
Lovlina Borgohain, who hails from Assam, had won bronze at the 2020 Olympic Games in the women's welterweight event, becoming only the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics. Hima Das, also from the state, is a sprinter and holds the current Indian national record in 400 meters that she clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sprinter Amlan Borgohain, who too hails from Assam, bagged two gold medals -- one each in 100m and 200m -- at the Flanders Cup athletics meet in Merksem, Belgium.
The first sports news in the state had appeared in ‘Asomiya’ newspaper on this day in 1923. It was on a three-day soccer competition in Sivasagar district.
The Assam Sports Journalists' Association marked the completion of hundred years with a year-long celebration that concluded on Saturday.