Guwahati, July 17: The Judo Federation of India (JFI) has adopted the Northeast as a ?special emphasis zone? to promote and popularise the sport in the next two years.

After being re-elected JFI president Union minister Jagdish Tytler said the JFI?s venture in the Northeast would not only be promotion-oriented but would be aimed at producing world class judokas from the talent pocket.

Assam Judo Association secretary Banee Brata Das was appointed the technical secretary of the JFI.

Announcing that the senior nationals 2006-07 would be held in Guwahati, he said a national event would be allotted to one of the northeastern states every year. ?We want to popularise the game in this talent pocket so that we can produce more and more internationals from the region who can take on the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese,? he said.

The JFI would provide assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the state associations concerned for holding senior nationals.

from the current year onwards.Tytler said national level coaching camps like the ongoing junior camp here would be organised more often in the region. ?The Guwahati camp will be followed by a junior women?s camp in Manipur.?

The AGM also finalised the calendar of nationals for 2005-06. ?Mumbai will host the senior nationals, Rajasthan the All India Black Belt meet. Lucknow will be the venue for sub-junior nationals and the junior nationals will be organised in Tamil Nadu,? said JFI secretary Mukesh Kumar.

Tytler said every state had been instructed to set up academies for which the JFI would extend financial assistance. ?However, the state associations will have to develop the infrastructure in collaboration with the state governments concerned and private parties,? he added.

The JFI, which is planning to engage foreign coaches soon, will help the state academies in roping in expert coaches too. The national body will further assist the state associations concerned in raising funds for promoting the game at the grassroot level, the JFI president added.

Another major decision in today?s meeting was that the JFI would provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the state associations concerned for holding senior nationals from the current year onwards. The Centre grants Rs 2 lakh for senior nationals to the state associations. The JFI president also said that he would try to impress upon the government of every northeastern state, in his personal capacity as Union minister, to include judo in the school curricula and take the game to remote rural areas.

He met Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi later in the evening to discuss the development of the game in the state.

The JFI has also decided to honour veteran contributors to judo from this year onwards.