For Goa Olympic Association president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and his team, the ‘Nasha Mukt Yuva’ run was a spirited kick-start to their vision of bringing Goa’s sporting fraternity together. The new team’s first major event brought around 500 participants together to champion fitness, healthy living and a drug-free society.
“All the State Sports Associations must come together. If this event goes well, it will give me the confidence that we are prepared to hold many bigger events,” Tanavade had told his team during a planning meeting earlier in the week. The 5-km run, from Miramar Circle to Caranzalem Park and back, was held as part of the Government of India’s Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat – 100 Sundays Campaign and jointly organised by the Goa Olympic Association, MY Bharat and Sports Authority of Goa.
For several stalwarts of Goa’s sporting administration, the morning also became a special reunion, bringing them shoulder to shoulder with the new GOA team. Among those present at the flag-off was Anil Madgavkar, one of the core founding members of the Goa Olympic Association. It was during his tenure that GOA was registered with the Indian Olympic Association and Goa was able to send its first-ever delegation to the National Games.
Former Sports Authority of Goa Executive Director V. M. Prabhudesai also travelled from Margao to be part of the event. “I couldn’t miss this event, the first of this team,” said Prabhudesai, recalling the period during his tenure when GOA began to grow and took its first steps towards hosting the National Games.
The early morning run which began at 7AM saw strong participation from educational institutions across Goa, with sizeable contingents from Kasturba Matoshri High School, Goa College of Engineering (GEC), National Institute of Water Sports, Kendriya Vidyalaya Bambolim, Pragati High School, Don Bosco Panjim and Goa University, among others, added to the morning’s youthful energy.
GOA Secretary General Sandeep Heble said the event was ultimately about the message rather than numbers. “Around 500 participants from the 13 to 30 age group participated in the event. There were some exceptions, including senior ladies and men who joined the run, but we did not stop anyone – the spirit of the event mattered,” he said. GOA organising members Sandhya Paliekar, Sudesh Thakur, Bhageshri Padloskar, Rukmini Kamat, Abhay Bhamaikar, Viplava Bhakta, Sunil Naik, Gerson Gracias, Hemang Doshi, Samir Bandodkar, Sachin Dukle and Salim Isani, among others, were actively involved in the initiative.
GOA Treasurer Jayesh Naik acknowledged the contribution of more than 50 coordinators and volunteers who worked to make the run possible. Samyek Meshram, Assistant Director, MY Bharat, Goa, and the MY Bharat Goa team played a key role in the initiative, while medical assistance was provided by teams from Directorate of Health Services and Manipal Hospitals. The Traffic Police and Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) also extended valuable assistance in ensuring smooth traffic management and civic arrangements for the event, CAM Industrial Services served as the Hygiene partner, and Rupa Bhakta was the Hydration partner.
The event thus brought together administrators, athletes, students, volunteers, government agencies and sporting veterans around a common message – a fit, healthy and Nasha Mukt Yuva – and marked the beginning of the new GOA team’s effort to build a stronger, more united and more vibrant sporting movement in Goa.
