PM to inaugurate South Asian Games tomorrow
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 12th South Asian Games at a glittering inaugural ceremony in the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium tomorrow, which will be jointly hosted at Guwahati and Shillong.
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Guwahati
The 12-day Games, featuring 2,500 athletes from eight SAARC countries, will witness cultural performances by local artists and school children during the opening ceremony, which will be attended by Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President N Ramachandran.
The multi-sporting event, being held under the aegis of South Asian Olympics Council, is happening after a delay of four years.
The 12th edition of the Games was to be held in 2012 in New Delhi but was postponed due to Assembly elections in the national capital. Following that, the IOA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee between December 2012 and February 2014, leading to further delay.
After the IOA's ban was revoked by the IOC, Kerala was tipped to host the Games but the event was handed to the North Eastern cities last year before another round of postponement.
The Games, which will see India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka compete for honours, will feature 228 events in 22 sports disciplines.
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