'Sports needs grassroots, education balance': Experts at AT Dialogue 2025

Guwahati, Nov 9: From strengthening country's football scenario to balancing academics and sports, and finding support for Olympic disciplines like archery a wide range of issues came up for discussion at the panel session on 'Harnessing Assam's Sporting Potential: Creating a Core Identity' held as part of The Assam Tribune Dialogue 25 at Vivanta in Guwahati on Saturday.

Larsing LD Sawyan, Managing Director and owner of Shillong Lajong Football Club the club that pioneered professional football in the Northeast by becoming the first from the region to compete in the I League stressed on the importance of nurturing talent at the grassroots.

He said the focus should be on building a structure for football similar to the IITS, IIMS or AIIMS in academics. "We invested in grooming talents at a young age and created an atmosphere for foot-ball to grow, Sawyan said.

Drawing parallels with Japan's J-League, which began in the 1990s and is now among Asia's strongest competitions. Sawyan said India needs to accelerate its development pace. "We must multiply the speed to reach even halfway to where Japan stands today," he said.

He, however, expressed optimism about women's football in the country.

"Practically, Indian women have a chance to break into the top 50 in FIFA rankings and eventually play the World Cup. The men's team, ranked around 130 is far behind" Sawyan said

Recalling the days when India was a dominant force in Asian football in the 1960s and 70s, Sawyan noted that after Talimeren Ao India's first football captain at the 1948 Olympics-very few players from the Northeast had made it big. He also lauded the Tata Football Academy for nurturing many young talents from the region who later went on to represent India.

Forner international shuttler and Oil India Limited (OIL) executive director Madhurjya Ba-na shared how discipline shaped his sporting journey.

"I'm a product of the Assam Agitation. During those days, when classes were suspended, I utilised the time to train harder and improve my game," he recalled.

Barua emphasised the importance of balancing sports with education. "Even during tournaments and long train journeys, I carried textbooks and studied. I regularly collected notes from teachers and classmates," he said, urging young athletes to give equal attention to academics.

Ace archer and Arjuna awardee Jayanta Talukdar, who has represented India for over two de cades and won medals at world and Asian meets, underlined the need for more institutional support in Olympic sports like archery.

"The primary focus of an athlete should be on training and performance, not on managing travel. or expenses," he said.

Having trained at the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur, Talukdar credited the academy's role in promoting Olympic disciplines. He noted that Indian archers have achieved success in world championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian events but an Olympic medal would be a game-changer.

"It will attract sponsors and transform the sport in India. Hopefully, that day isn't far away" he added. The session was moderated by journalist Nasreen Habib of The Assam Tribune.