Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: More than 200 archers and officials gathered at the Sports Authority of India Centre on the NEHU campus this August 11. They are here for the three-day Meghalaya State Archery Championship 2026. Every one of the state's 12 districts sent competitors to the event. They are facing off in Indian Round, recurve, and compound categories across team and individual brackets.
The Archery Association of Meghalaya is running the show. Indian Round matches occupied the opening day. Officials expect to hand out the first medals this Wednesday. This meet serves as a major building block for the 39th National Games, which Meghalaya will host next year. The state is betting big on its athletes.
Isawanda Laloo, secretary of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, attended the ceremony alongside Meghalaya State Olympic Association general secretary Finely L Pariat and assistant director Khroobok Passah. Both Laloo and Pariat took a turn with recurve bows during the opening. Laloo noted the state’s two recent gold medals and one bronze from the Khelo India Tribal Games. "That shows that all the efforts of the association are paying off," Laloo said.
Matsiewdor War Nongbri, chief adviser to the AAM, delivered the keynote. She discussed how archery shifted from a survival skill to a modern sport and honored Woodward Sohliya for his work on the Indian Round. The state is currently building Centres of Excellence in the Garo Hills and Khasi-Jaintia Hills to bolster infrastructure. They plan to use the upcoming Senior National Archery Championship as a test event to sharpen operations for the main games.
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