Australia-India forum discusses sports development in Meghalaya

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 6, 2025

The Australia-India Sports Excellence Forum, held on March 5-6, 2025, at the GIFT City Club in Gandhinagar, focused on enhancing sports development in Meghalaya. This first-of-its-kind event aimed to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in Olympic and Paralympic sports, sports science, and hosting major events.

Key attendees included HE Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to India, Raksha Khadse, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, and Harsh Sanghavi, Gujarat Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs. Experts led sessions on various topics over the two days.

In a statement issued by John F Kharshiing, he said, “This forum is a significant step towards fostering sports excellence and inclusivity. I had a detailed discussion with Ms. Robyn Smith, OAM, Governing Board Member, International Paralympic Committee, on the importance of including Para Sports in all major events. She was very keen to know that Meghalaya regularly hosted the state games and was also interested to know more about both the upcoming National Games 2027 to be hosted by Meghalaya and the 4th North East Games 2025 to be hosted in North East. She suggested the possibility of simultaneously hosting one or two para sports, to which we assured that we will discuss this matter with the authorities so as to create a platform for the para athletes.”

The forum highlighted the growing collaboration between Australia and India in sports, paving the way for future developments in Meghalaya.