South Asia Olympic Council meeting and it's decisions
12/03/2016
Nepal is all set to host the 13th edition of South Asian Games in Kathmandu from March 9-18 in 2019. A meeting of the South Asia Olympic Council (SAOC) on Saturday took a decision to this effect.
The meeting also officially announced Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha and General Secretary Lama Tendi Sherpa as the president and general secretary respectively of the SAOC as per the charter of the regional sports body.
Another major decision taken by the meeting, attended by delegates from five south Asian member states, is to establish permanent headquarters of SAOC in Nepal, which had been pending since the inauguration of the games in 1984 under the initiative of Nepal.
There will be 22 to 25 sports disciplines in the South Asian Games but the categories are yet to be decided. According to NOC President Shrestha, the meeting has decided to allow the host country to propose two sports among the 25 sports to be included in the games.
Among other decisions taken by the meeting includes amendment of the charter of SAOC. The amendment will be endorsed by the next meeting of SAOC proposed for July 2017 in Bhutan.
Speaking at the inauguration of the SAOC meeting held at Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC), Satdobato, NOC and SAOC President Jeevan Ram Shrestha informed the delegates that the government of Nepal has already endorsed the proposal to organize the games.
"The government has already endorsed our proposal and has allocated budget for the games," said NOC President Shrestha, adding, "A monitoring and instruction committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the prime minister and a preparation committee headed by the sports minister is also working accordingly to successfully organize the regional games."
Nepal is the pioneer of the South Asian Games, which was held in Kathmandu for the first time in 1984. This is the third time Nepal is about to organize the games after the success of the first and eighth editions held in Kathmandu. The last time Nepal organized the regional sporting extravaganza was in 1999.
Chief guest Daljit Sripali, minister for youth and sports, reiterated that the government was committed to hold the games in the scheduled time.
"This is not just an opportunity but a matter of pride for all Nepalis. We are committed to hold the games in time and I want to assure all that the government of Nepal has kept the games in its priority list," said the minister.
Representatives from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan attended the meeting while delegates from India and the Maldives couldn't attend the meeting.
Mr. Muhammad Khalid Mahmood from Pakistan; Mr. Charles Wellington Devaraja Henry and Mr. Maxwell Priyantha Nirmal De Silva of Sri Lanka; Mr. Fakhruddin Haider of Bangladesh and Mr. Sonam Karma Tshering and Mr. Jigme Thinley of Bhutan represented their respective Olympic associations during Saturday's meeting.
According to NOC and SAOC President Shrestha, all decisions during Saturday's meeting were endorsed by majority of the SAOC member states.
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