Northeast's first traditional sports museum was inaugurated today in Guwahati

• Image Credit: Pratidin Time

• Oct 27, 2022 | Poonam Nath

Chiranjeev Sharma's ten years of action may have led to the creation of the Northeast's first traditional sports museum.

Digital Desk: Gitartha Goswami, Member Secretary of the State Level Advisory Committee for Students and Youth Welfare in Assam, opened the Olympia Traditional Sports Museum in Rajgarh, Guwahati, on Thursday. 

The museum, an initiative of the Sports and Cultural Study Centre, intends to present all traditional games and sports of Assam and the Northeast to the world in order to preserve them, as well as to be a knowledge centre for all indigenous and traditional sports. 

The museum is located at House No. 1, Bye-lane No. 6 on Rajgarh Road in Guwahati. Several prominent figures from the state's sports, culture, and other social activities attended the inauguration.

Goswami praised Chiranjeev Sharma for taking the initiative to establish the museum, calling it a "revolutionary gesture." He also promised all possible assistance from the state government in moving this forward. 

Here is the list of eminent dignitaries who attended the event: Retired ACS officer Rajib Prakash Baruah, Krida Bharati's Northeast Coordinator Manoj Mahanta, former international Taekwondo player Paragdhar Konwar, Assam Kabaddi Association Secretary Alok Tripathi, Assam Tang Soo Do Association Secretary Debajit Gogoi, International swimmer Elvis Ali Hazarika, All India Journalists' Federation President Subodh Malla Baruah, Assam Roll Ball Association Secretary Bhumidhar Barman, Assam Roller Skating Association Secretary Anupam Sharma, Krida Bharati Guwahati branch President Amal Deka and Cultural Worker Chandan Goutam.

The museum also features books and other materials produced by famous persons linked with sports in Assam that are beneficial for any research in the discipline. 

"I'm incredibly thrilled today," Chiranjeev Sharma, the project's creator, said on the occasion. It feels like I've accomplished something. This has long been a dream of mine, and it has now come true. We have assembled over 600 traditional sports, with materials available for anyone interested in studying in this discipline. In addition, approximately 100 such sports and games are on display in this museum."

It is worth noticed that Chiranjeev Sharma has spent over ten years compiling all of the information needed to establish the museum. His initiative may have resulted in the establishment of the Northeast's first traditional sports museum.