SILCHAR, Jan 12 - The settings may not have been as electrifying as on the opening day, but it still was an evening to remember as Silchar along with its associate venues Udharbondh and Sonai bid farewell to the participants of the 3rd State Games with an elaborate closing ceremony at the SM Dev Stadium here on Tuesday.
The arrival of the athletes, in the form of a jumbled march-past, marked the beginning of the show. This was followed by distribution of medals to players in various disciplines. Officials from the Directorate of Sports, Government of Assam were also honoured in the closing ceremony.
With a total of 114 medals, Guwahati eased past other districts in the six-day sports meet. Silchar occupied the second spot in the medal tally with 73 medals followed by Karbi Anglong in the third position with 33 medals. A total of 38 gold, 41 silver and 35 bronze medals fell in the kitty of Guwahati while Silchar players brought 28 gold, 22 silver and 23 bronze in the event.
On the final day, Karbi Anglong won gold in the men�s regu category of sepaktakraw discipline. Hailakandi and Silchar won a silver and bronze respectively in this category. Silchar won gold in the women�s category of this event. In the men�s marathon, Bijoy Deka of Jorhat won gold reaching the finish line in 2 hours 31 minutes. Anita from Silchar won gold in women�s marathon. Men�s 800 metre gold went to Ajay Praja of Tinsukia. Guwahati won the men�s handball and Sivasagar took gold in the women�s category. Nagaon snatched all three medal positions in the carom women�s team event. Guwahati took gold in the men�s carom event. In the men�s under 58 kg taekwondo, Mominur Rahman from Guwahati won gold.
Later, in his short speech, Sports Minister and president of the Games organising committee Ajit Singh said that the mega sports meet which brought the entire State together had been a great revelation of the vast talent pool the state possesses. �It is a great feeling to see the third edition of the State Games also known as Assam Olympics end on a successful note. In its debut endeavour, Silchar has been able to provide the best of facilities required for hosting such an event and I believe this will continue in the future as well,� the Minister said thanking everyone. Pradip Hazarika, joint secretary, Assam Olympics Association (AOA), Anup Kumar Choudhury, joint secretary of AOA, Badal Dey, president DSA Silchar, Babul Hore secretary DSA Silchar, were among others who spoke on the occasion.
