Moa Jamir
‘I am speechless and overwhelmed,’ a conspicuously relieved and elated Nagaland’s Advisor for the Department of Youth Resource and Sports (DYRS), Er Zalie Neikha declared receiving the triumphant team representing the State in the 2022 Subroto Cup International Football Tournament at the Dimapur Airport on October 15.
After more than 4 decades, the players from the Pilgrim Higher Secondary School representing Nagaland lifted the Under-17 Subroto Cup trophy defeating Chandigarh by a solitary goal in the finals, igniting collective celebration of a rare sporting feat.
The Advisor’s state of mind was understandable. Nagaland’s achievements in sports – both the competitive arenas in the recent past have been more words than deeds, often marked with lofty promises but poor execution, at best.
Those at the helms of affairs as well as the general hearth's conversations are often replete with ‘potentialities’ of the youth but talks seldom translate into achievement. Besides the personal commitment and professionalism of the players, there is a general perception that such potentialities are not optimally moulded by providing the required infrastructure and the State lacks serious policy measures to discover, train and retain talents.
A perfect illustration of such casual approaches is the ‘Nagaland State Sports Policy’ which was ‘pledged’ to be “announced within 100 days” of the current dispensation in March 2018. Four years and six months after, it is yet to see the light of day. While some incomplete projects and sporting events have been executed during the intervening period, a lack of coherent policy seems to be affecting the outcome in the field.
Take the case of the 36th National Games held from September 29-October 12 in Gujarat. Out of more than 7000 athletes and over 15000 participants, Nagaland was represented by mere 14 players and managed to compete in just 4 sports disciplines -Archery, Athletics, Boxing and Wrestling. There were competitions in 36 sports disciplines and 44 events at the games.
It is understood that participation in every event is possible at the games only after a team and concerned individual athlete qualify through the criteria laid down by the respective Sports Federations; however such low participation aptly depicts the status of sports in the State. Not surprisingly, out of 37 teams, Nagaland along with Meghalaya and three other Union Territories were the only teams without any medals.
Accordingly, the Subroto Cup achievement was a timely face-saver for most stakeholders, particularly the department helming the sporting affairs, and explains the Advisor’s emotional state on October 15, as it deflected any possible criticism for the underperformance in the National Games.
However, this is not a one-off occurrence. Over the years, Nagaland has been both grossly underrepresented and underperforming in the national sporting arenas.
Out of 7 National Games, from 1999 to 2022, Nagaland has won just 13 medals - 1 gold, 1 silver and 13 bronze, while the number of participants during the last two games have been below 20. The medals include 11 medals in 2007 in Assam, the State’s best performance so far. In other years, the State drew blank except for two bronze in 2011.
Such scenarios are not restricted to the National Games alone and the State’s status is equally dismal at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), touted as the biggest platform for the “grassroot level hunt for sportspersons” in India. In the 2021 edition, Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Sikkim were the only States/UTs without any medals in the point tally. Under-representation and underperformance have been the hallmark of Nagaland's participation at various KYIGs so far.
Nevertheless, the ‘face-saving’ Subroto Cup win and the value of the impact of U-17 youth team’s performance should act as an impetus for the State Government and the concerned department to bring out a coherent and comprehensive sports policy to shape and guide sporting activities. They should not depend on teenagers to bail them out of every future discomfiture.
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