GANGTOK,: Hosts Sikkim finished on top of the medal tally at the IMF Northeast Zone Sport Climbing Competition held at Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco-Tourism, Chemchey in South Sikkim from December 8 to 10.
The Sikkim Sport Climbing Association (SSCA) team massed 18 medals (7 gold, 7 silver and 4 bronze) of 45 medals.
The closing ceremony had Sikkim Olympic Association (SOA) president Kuber Bhandari as the chief guest.
SSCA president Kunzang Gyatsho expressed gratitude to Chief Minister P.S. Golay, Sports minister Kunga Nima Lepcha and all the supporters for the successful completion of the competition.
Anita Devi, the NE Zone chairperson of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, said there is a lot of potential for sport climbing in the future.
Chief judge Dev Pritam Lakhar from Assam applauded the SSCA for the successful conclusion of the competition, and wished the winners good luck for the upcoming national competition.
Chief guest Kuber Bhandari stressed on promoting sport climbing in the State, while mentioning that the climbers can also compete for Olympics gold as sport climbing made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. He informed that efforts will be made to include the sport in the upcoming Northeast Olympics to be held in Dimapur, Nagaland.
The SOA president also expressed his happiness at the progress made by SSCA in a short time and assured the SOA’s support.
The winners of the competition will participate in the national competition to be held in Bengaluru.
