The 26th Northeast Games kicked off in the hilly state of Mizoram on Tuesday. The inaugural function of the games was held at the newly constructed Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in the state capital Aizawl. The Chief Minister of Mizoram, Lal Thanhawla, declared the games opened in the presence of the sports minister of Assam. In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister said that the northeast region has a great potential in sports and it needs to be promoted further. The theme of the games, being hosted by Mizoram third time, is ‘Unity through Sports’. Mizoram made a golden start to the event by winning gold medals in 60-kg Men and 55-kg women category wrestling. Over 1,100 athletes from the entire northeast region will fight it out under eleven disciplines during the four day-long sporting extravaganza.