The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbananda Sonowal released a case study done by IIM Ahmedabad on South Asian Games(SAG) – 2016 titled “South Asian Games 2016: the dash to the North East”, laying special emphasis on the success of this game to connect different countries and the emergence of India as sports super power at a regional level, winning about 40% of all the medals.

This case is a result of a study done by Prof. Sanjeev Tripathi from Indian Institute of Management(IIM)Ahmedabad on the conduct of South Asian Games, 2016. The case study was initiated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with management institutes to increase professionalism in the sports landscape in the country with an aim to identify the factors that resulted in the successful conduct of the games in an extremely short period.According to the report, the mascot of the games Tikhor, was able to connect with everyone and brought in a theme of naughtiness, fun and sensitivity towards preserving wild life.

The executive Summary of the case dwelled at length on various factors particularly on the delay factors which was plagued by allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games. The South Asian Games (SAG) is a multi-sport event with eight South Asian countries competing in it: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan. The 11th SAG was held in Dhaka in 2010. India offered to host the 2012 Games; however, the games got postponed due to a number of factors. Allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games and its repercussions and later the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association cast a shadow over the conduct of the games.

After a number of delays, in December, 2014 the Indian Olympic Association(IOA) with the approval of the government decided to hold the SAG in Guwahati and Shillong in North East India. However, there were still uncertainties about the final venue of the games, these were finally sorted and the games were planned to be held in February 2016 to avoid clashes with the local festivals.

By the time the final decision was taken, it was October, 2015, and just about three months were left for the games to begin. There were a number of challenges that needed to be overcome in the organization of the games. The time was too short and because of the repeated rescheduling, there was scepticism about whether the dates would be adhered to.

The Commonwealth Games held in 2010 had been plagued with the allegations of corruption and IOA officials were afraid of playing an active role in the organization of the games. IOA wanted the responsibility of technical conduct of the games only.

For all other aspects of the Games, IOA wanted the Government to take the responsibility and host the Games. Even the officers and staff in the Department of Sports (DoS) under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYS) was worried about taking decisions with the fear of being penalized later on charges of corruption.

Large multi sports events had been a rarity in North East and an international event of this stature was planned for the first time in North East. As such there was a concern about whether the infrastructure would be ready in time for hosting the games and to accommodate the athletes and the delegations.

Giving a political touch to the whole case study, it was reported that the assembly elections in the state of Assam were scheduled in April 2016, and the success or the failure in organizing the games could become an election issue as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal (from BJP) and Tarun Gogoi (from Congress) the current Chief Minister of Assam were political rivals and also aspirants for the post of Chief Minister of Assam.

Some of the participating countries were skeptical of participating in the games owing to concerns about the security situation and their doubts about whether the games would be held. Delegations were sent to all the participating countries to reassure them about the games and this proved useful as all the countries committed to attend the games. To publicize the games and involve the local public, a promotional campaign was launched which focused on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube besides the traditional channels such as TV, Newspaper and Radio.

To deal with the corruption issues, most of the purchasing was done through online portals. An Internal Working Group, operating within the DoS, met weekly to fast track any procurement issues. Sunil Verma, the retired Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India, was appointed as ethical adviser to the SAGOC to ensure transparency, proper utilization of money and probity of the highest order in spending money.a

The games were finally held on schedule in just about 90 days of the announcement of schedule. The opening and closing ceremony of the games were a big success and showcased the regional culture with a digital theme.

Now, that the games were over, Secretary (Sports) felt that it was important to capture the key learning from the organization of the games and to adopt these as best practices. He wanted to deliberate over this with his team and to brief MoS (I/C) YA&S about the lessons learnt from the games.