Jayanta talukdar

Sivasagar, Dec 14: Bhogeswar Baruah, Assam’s first Arjuna Awardee and a gold medalist in the 800m at the 1966 Asian Games, has criticized the state government for failing to take initiatives in identifying and nurturing sports talent, particularly in rural areas. The 84-year-old athlete expressed concern over the lack of organized efforts to discover new talent, noting that such initiatives have significantly declined in recent years.

Baruah highlighted that in the past, talent identification camps were regularly organized, but these efforts have stopped. He also pointed out that while the state government employs several coaches, they are not being utilized effectively to organize training camps in districts, which has led to a stagnation in the development of sports in Assam.

• Bhogeswar Baruah (Assamese: ভোগেশ্বৰ বৰুৱা; born 3 September 1940) is an Indian former-athlete and coach. He was one of the first Assamese to win gold at an international event, winning a He gold medal in an 800-metre running event of at the 1966 Asian Games. He also won a silver medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay in the 1970 Asian games. He is a recipient of the Arjuna Award and is the first Assamese to obtain the Arjuna award. Baruah was born on 3 September 1940. He came from a farmer's family, and was very poor while growing up in Sivasagar. Baruah enjoyed sports from a young age, particularly football. He joined the Indian Defence Force in 1960, which led to him focusing on running rather than football. Baruah began his early running career shortly after his entry into the army. He participated in several running events, winning gold in numerous events. In 1965, in the National Athletics Competition held in Bangalore, he set a national record finishing the 800 metre race in 1 min 49.9 seconds. In the 1966 Asian Games he w