Football legend Pele once said, “The more difficult in victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”
For me, ‘sports’ is passion, energy, positivity and happiness. Sports have bought in changes in our society, through champions for almost a decade now.
In the recent past, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has declared his willingness to establish Guwahati as the sports capital. After the huge success of the 33rd National Games in Assam, Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Sarusajai has seen many international meets like The Asian Athletics Grand Prix, Asian Women Boxing Champion, South Asian Games 2016, FIFA U-17 World Cup, three seasons of Indian Super League to name a few.
Meanwhile, Guwahati hosted India-Australia T20 match at a new international-standard stadium in Barsapara. Now the city is gearing up to host Women World Youth Boxing and the next season of the Indian Super League. Media houses in the state are also gearing up to cover and promote these international meets among the sports lovers. A large number of sports journalists from various platforms will be at the venues to give an exclusive coverage to these events.
Sports journalism is in great demand in today’s world. With an objective to promote and popularize sports journalism as a skill, the Assam Sports Journalists Association (ASJA) in association with the State Level Advisory Committee (Govt of Assam) have come up with an idea to hold workshops in different districts of Assam involving students from schools and colleges. A broader perspective behind the initiative is to provide an ideal platform for youngsters to understand the importance of sports and sports journalism. All together 32 districts will be covered during the program which is expected to conclude by November 2017.
The day-long workshops are conducted with the help of district press clubs and sports associations. The team of experts includes one from print media, one from electronic media, a reputed sportsperson, sports organizer, a photojournalalist, retired sports commissioner, secretary of ASJA Bidyut Kalita and president of Indian Sports Federation Subodh Malla Baruah along with the members of the association.
Former international veterans like Taibunnisa, Gilbertson Sangma, have also been roped in for the program. The idea is not only to popularize and promote sports journalism but to make the young generation aware of new avenues in the field of sports like sports medicine, sports branding, sports management, sports commentators, sports presenters, volunteers etc.
There is an opportunity for the young participants to grab an opportunity for the young reporters program. So far more than 20 districts have been successfully covered with huge support from students, teachers, district administration, sports analysts etc.
