Assam and Arunachal Pradesh took most of the badminton honours at the 2nd North East Olympic Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Shillong on Monday, with Assam claiming four gold, one silver and two bronze medals while Arunachal took home two gold, three silver and a bronze.
Manipur and Nagaland both won one silver and three bronze medals each, while Mizoram finished with two bronze and hosts Meghalaya managed a bronze.
Assam won the final of the mixed team championship 3-1 against Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday and all the individual events were concluded on Monday.
Arunachal's Laa Tukum beat Hemam Malemnganba of Manipur 21-18, 21-9 in the men's singles final while the women's singles title clash was an all-Assam affair, with Isharani Baruah defeating Disha Sarma 21-3, 21-11.
In men's doubles final, Jayram Pegu and Tonmoy Bikash Boruah of Assam won 21-14, 16-21, 21-15 against the Arunachal pair of Ch Kiyon Manpang and Sonam Tamang, and Arunachal's Pinky Karki and Taring Yania triumphed over Nagaland's Debahuti Lahon and Ekumyalathe 21-7, 21-14 in women's doubles final.
The mixed doubles event was won by Pegu and Baruah of Assam beating Nikhil Chetry and Yania of Arunachal.
Arunachal shine in weightlifting: Balo Yalam and Posen Kongkang claimed two gold for Arunachal Pradesh in women's weightlifting. The other gold medals on offer on the day were won by lifters from Assam and Manipur.
Arunachal's Balo won the gold in the 59kg category with a snatch of 75 kg, a clean and jerk of 97 kg while Kongkang won Arunachal the gold in the 64 kg event (snatch 77kg, C&J 97kg) lifting a total of 174 kg.
In the 49kg event, Bornali Bora of Assam won the gold (snatch 71kg, C&J 95kg, total 166kg) and the gold in the 55kg category went to Manipur's Ph Ranibala Devi (snatch 84kg, C&J 100kg, total 184kg).
Assam dominate the pool: Swimming went Assam's way, with the state claiming a total of 20 gold medals at Crinoline Swimming Pool in the city.
Both the women's and men's Best Swimmer awards went to Assam swimmers — namely Jahnabi Kashyap (4 gold) and Jananjoy Jyoti Hazarika (3 gold, 1 silver). Assam also claimed 12 silver and four bronze with Manipur winning two gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze for second place, while Tripura were third with six bronze medals. The hosts won one bronze.
Manipur, Arunachal to vie for football title: Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh will meet in the final of the U17 women's football after they won their respective semifinals at the MFA Turf in Polo Ground on Monday. Manipur defeated Mizoram 2-0, while Arunachal came from behind to beat Sikkim 5-1.
Manipur, who had cruised into the last-four thanks to wins over Assam and Sikkim by identical 6-0 margins, had a tough fight against Mizoram, who gave it their all on the pitch but came up a little short. H Shilky Devi scored the first in the 35th minute while U Luxmi Devi's (90'+3) goal in stoppage time put the game to bed.
Meanwhile, Laxmi Tamang (3') gave Sikkim an early lead but Arunachal had goals from Kai Rumi (12'), Angel Tayang (41'), Gianai Ramching Mara (57'), Rumi (71') and Tayang (88') to book the summit clash on Wednesday.
Wrestling events begin for first time: The wrestling events began on Monday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex with the Meghalaya hosting the sport for the first time.
