South Asian Games to be held from Dec 10-20

New Delhi: The 12th South Asian Games will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from December 10 to 20, it was finalised on Tuesday.

The dates of the SAG were decided in a meeting of Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan with state sports secretaries of Assam and Meghalaya here. Indian Olympic Association President N Ramachandran and Secretary General Rajeev Mehta were also present in the meeting.

The Prime Minister's Office had given clearance to the hosting of the SAG during the window of November 2015 to January 2016. "The South Asian Games will be held from December 10 to 20 in Guwahati and Shillong. Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan and sports secretaries of Assam and Meghalaya had a meeting here and finalised the dates, in the presence of IOA President and Secretary General," a source in the sports ministry told PTI.

The SAG, which may cost from Rs 60 to 70 crore to the government to host them, would see participation of around 2,500 athletes from the eight member-countries -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The last edition of the SAG was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2010. The top bosses of the national Olympic bodies of eight South Asian countries will have a meeting in Guwahati on July 6 to decide on the number of disciplines to be included in the Games and setting up of various committees to host the regional multi-sporting event.