Tawang: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday flagged off the world’s highest mountain biking race Monduro 3.0 here in Arunachal Pradesh.
Mountain bikers from Nepal, Indonesia and Britain besides those from across India are competing in the biking race held on a high mountain range with an altitude of 14,400 feet above the sea level.
‘Mon’ stands for land of the Monpas and ‘Duro’ depicts Enduro format of the MTB. Monduro 3.0 is the first after the state government declared it a calendar event.
“This is an indication that the event has grown from its humble beginnings and has caught the attention of enthusiasts from across the globe. This will not only boost the morale of our youths to take up sports but also develop tourism in the region,” the Chief Minister said.
Revealing that Arunachal Pradesh languished at the bottom when it came to sports and games in the country, Khandu said that with support of the central government, the state government has concentrated on developing sports infrastructure and encouraging youths to take up sports as profession.
“In recent years our commitment has shown results. Our youths today are winning medals not only in national but also in international levels. Under the present government at the Centre, even India has a emerged as a global power in sports and games,” he said.
Referring to the ongoing National Games (that concludes today) at Goa, Khandu asserted that Arunachal’s emergence as a sporting state can be vouched from the fact that it is ranked 21st in the medal tally from amongst 34 states/union territories.
“When it comes to the North East, we are third after Manipur and Assam,” he informed.
Khandu said that due to the consistent efforts of the state government, Arunachal Pradesh is today able to host national level events.
“As President of the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association, I proudly inform you that we will be hosting several top matches of the ensuing Santosh Trophy championship, India’s biggest football event,” he announced.
Wishing the participants all the best, Khandu also expressed happiness that Monduro event will henceforth be included in the Asian Endurance Series (AES) as informed by the organizers of the initiative to bring together all motorsports enthusiasts in Asia. He assured that the state government would willingly support the initiative in whatever possible way.
