4th Meghalaya Games 2022: Penultimate day sees a flurry of action

On the final day of the archery events, the Games were blessed to have India’s chief coach Mim Bahadur Gurung and star national archer Atanu Das present on the occasion. Das is a multiple World Cup, Asian Championships and World Championships archer.

In the Indian Round results, Navydisha Kokil Kapoor of Ri-Bhoi came first in the 50m event, while the 30m category was bagged by Ibanisha Ryntathiang of Pyndengumiong. Ryntathiang also claimed gold in the women’s individual event. The women’s team final went to a tiebreaker but East Khasi Hills edged Pyndengumiong in the shootout.

In the men’s Indian Round, Kirdhart Gurung swept all three of the finals, in the 50m, 30m and men’s individual. He was also part of the East Khasi Hills team that won the team final against South West Khasi Hills.

Shooting continued at the Assam Regimental Centre in Happy Valley. Indoor events saw the use of air pistols and air rifles but for the small calibre rounds, the action was outdoors.

The shooters were a picture of concentration – they had to be in order to hit the target placed 25 metres (for the sports pistol) and 50m (for the sports rifle) away. A steady hand, controlled breathing, the right stance and mental strength, all were vital for the shooters.

The ARC range is set amid hills and forests. The atmosphere is serene and as the shooters steady themselves barely a whisper can be heard from among those present. And suddenly, there is a crack – the fierce retort of a bullet fired from the gun.

Besides all the mental challenges described above, sometimes there are added ones for the shooters, such as when the gun jams. Deputy Inspector General Davis NR Marak faced this issue but did not let it put him off. After sorting out his equipment, his subsequent shots were almost perfectly placed, which netted him a round of applause from his fellow competitors.

Cycling concluded today at Malki Forest, with special guest Ampareen Lyngdoh MLA flagging off the cross country race. The Meghalaya Cycling Association also ‘plogged’ after the conclusion of the events to make sure that the forest was left in as clean a condition as it was before the start.

In basketball, East Khasi Hills swept both the women’s and men’s finals at the NEIGRIHMS Indoor Stadium. West Khasi Hills, the defending champions, lost the women’s title match 46-31, while EKH also won the men’s contest 68-55 over Ri-Bhoi.

Ri-Bhoi women claimed the bronze with a 36-24 win over West Jaintia Hills, while WKH men took the third place in the men’s division with a 57-42 victory against WJH.

Table tennis concluded at the SAI Indoor Hall today, with the gold medals being won by Tanushree Das Gupta in women’s singles and Suranjit Dey in men’s singles. Dey combined with T Yogesh Singh to win the men’s doubles, while Camelia Diengdoh and Anwesha Choudhury won the women’s doubles.

This year also featured U-17 boys’ doubles and boys’ singles, with the pair of Jeff AK Marak and Ario S Marak winning the former, while Jeff also won the singles final. Finally, the mixed doubles title was bagged by Dey and Choudhury.

Tennis at Shillong Club was greatly affected by the weather, first yesterday, with the semifinals pushed into the evening and then again today. Sanjeev Chettri put in a convincing performance to take gold in the men’s singles 6-0, 6-0 over Joplut Kharbuli, while Ishaan Rawat won 6-4, 6-2 in the boys’ singles final against Enrick Suchiang.

Suchiang and team mate Rakshit Bajaj were also involved in an epic boys’ doubles final against Rawat and Harsh Singhania, that ended 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 11-9 in the former’s favour.

Tennis this year also had a women’s singles exhibition match between Samaira Kharbuli and Sasha Kharbuli, with the former winning 6-2 in a single set contest.

Women’s football semifinals saw West Khasi Hills edge West Garo Hills 2-1, while East Khasi Hills beat EJH by the same margin. In the men’s semis, Ri-Bhoi edged West Jaintia Hills 5-4 on penalties after full time finished 1-1, while EKH came through 2-1 against East Jaintia Hills. The women’s final will be held tomorrow at Mawlai Madan Heh, while the men’s will be at SAI.

Tomorrow will see the 4th Meghalaya Games 2022 reach its conclusion. Shooting will end by 10:30am at Happy Valley, the billiards final will take place at 1pm at Shillong Club, while that of snooker will follow at 3:30pm. Karate, archery and athletics, at SAI Centre, will bring the Games, with its total of 19 disciplines, to a grand end.

By Our Reporter