South Asian Games to held from Feb 6-16 in Guwahati, Shillong

Guwahati: The South Asian Games will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from February 6 to 16 next year with eight countries, including hosts India, participating in the regional multi-sporting event, said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday.

"There would be 25 disciplines, with 17 of them scheduled to be held in Guwahati and eight in Meghalaya's capital city Shillong," Gogoi said at a press conference he addressed with Indian Olympic Association General Secretary Rajiv Mehta.

The participating countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, besides hosts India.

Nearly 4,000 athletes and officials are expected to take part in various sports disciplines, Gogoi said.

Stating that the Games would be held in cooperation with the Central Government and other stakeholders, he said Assam was ready to host the sportspersons from other countries.

The member countries of South Asian Olympic Council, at a meeting in Chennai on October 11, had decided that tennis would be a new addition to the existing 22 disciplines.

The 22 disciplines are archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, football, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho kho, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.