Agartala, September 4:
Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha on Thursday inaugurated the Yonex Sunrise North East Zone Inter-State and Zonal Badminton Championship 2025 at the NSRCC Indoor Hall in Agartala, marking the beginning of a four-day sporting event.
The tournament, hosted by the Tripura Badminton Association, has drawn over 200 players and officials from all eight Northeastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Saha, himself a former badminton player, described the championship as a celebration of regional unity, gaining exposure and sporting excellence.
He urged participants to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship with integrity while competing and stressed the crucial role of sports in promoting both physical fitness and mental well-being.
Reiterating the state government’s commitment to sports development in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, the Chief Minister highlighted the creation of eight synthetic turf football grounds, two athletic tracks, a hockey turf, and a swimming pool in Tripura.
Saha also announced that witnessing the popularity of open gym the state government has planned to go for 15 more such initiatives across the state.
He also pointed to ongoing projects, including multipurpose indoor halls in Kailashahar and Udaipur, synthetic football turfs at Gandatuisa and Kakraban, a 200-bed sports hostel at Badharghat, and a world-class sports complex with an international-standard swimming pool, a national football field and multipurpose sports hall at Bholagiri in Agartala.
The inauguration was attended by Agartala Mayor and MLA Dipak Majumder, Secretary of Youth Affairs and Sports P.K. Chakraborty, Director L. Darlong, Padma Shri awardee gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Tripura Badminton Association working president Ratan Saha, and several dignitaries.
A colorful innagural programme was also launched and the championship will run until September 7.