From rugged to first-class circuit

The Arunachal Pradesh Cricket team has taken the sport to a new level 
    with its maiden performance at the Vijay Hazare Trophy recently win
    ning over Mizoram. Also known as the Ranji One Day Trophy, the trophy started way back in 2002. This was the first time, team from North East participated.
New to the arena, the players from the region gave a good show. The players from the state who usually play at rough rugged ground had contact with the first-class Cricket ground for the first time. It is worthy of appreciation that the team from the state on its first match at the trophy defeated Mizoram by four wickets at the GS Patel Stadium in Nadiad. The nine new teams entering the trophy for the first time are Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Bihar, Puducherry and Uttarakhand. North East India undoubtedly is the hub of sports in India. The region has provided many sportsperson who represented the country in the international arena.
Shayan Acharya  reporting for Sports Live wrote, “The biggest surprise of the day was Arunachal’s win over Mizoram. With no ground or facilities available in the state, the players from Arunachal had a tough time before the season.” This is true when it comes to the facilities provided here in the state for sports. While on one hand the state is burdened with rapid rise in unemployment, on the other hand it’s marred with anti-social practices. And amidst these challenges, the youths of the state are proving their mettle at national and international sports platform.
The state is blessed with talented youths in sports. There is a need to create more avenues for them to excel in their respective sports. The parents and guardian also has significant role to play in encouraging their wards to take up games and sports along with maintaining a healthy lifestyle also to bring laurels to the state. The society for long has encouraged government jobs and other ‘secure jobs’, not that it shouldn’t. The society should also encourage sportsperson and entrepreneurs of state. It is also important to develop the developmental policies of the state.
The onus also lies on the state government to come up with a sports policy that encourages talented youths to undertake sports activities. The sports policy of the state looks forward to create infrastructures and provide sports person to the country. To realize the vision of the policy, it is imperative to look into a need-based approach of various sports and its potential in the state and for the country alike.
As expressed by experts in the field,  other than being a building block for a healthy society, sports can also help frame state and national identity. The state’s sports policy needs to be implemented in toto to guarantee better future for the sports persons of the state. Till then let’s hope team Arunachal surprises all in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.