Aizawl, Feb 20: The Mizoram government has proposed to host an international half marathon event in Aizawl for the first time, Sports Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar said.
The event, the schedule of will be announced after approval from the Athletic Federation of India (AFI), is expected to see the participation of about 2,000 runners from across the country and abroad, he said.
For the successful organisation of the proposed international event, the state Sports and Youth Service Department has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Innovations India in the presence of Hmar.
Hmar on Tuesday said that apart from promoting health, fitness and tourism, the event will also be used as an anti-drug campaign among the youth, he said.
He said that the government has approached the AFI for recognition and schedule of the event and is awaiting a response from it.
“In case the AFI can’t include us in its calendar and fix the date, we are planning to organise the event in April as we are optimistic for approval at least,” he said.
He said that registration for the proposed event will be conducted online except for students, who will be approached in their schools for offline registration.
Innovations India chief executive officer (CEO) Rahul Bali, who is also the curator of the proposed Aizawl International Half Marathon, said there will be three categories — 21.1 km marathon, 10 km for women and 5 km for children and the elderly. (PTI)
