11th Indian Ocean Islands Games: Closing ceremony |04 September 2023
Curtains go down on 11th Games
- Rendez-vous in the Comoros in 2027
The 11th Indian Ocean Islands Games are officially over, following the closing ceremony held yesterday at the Barea Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo where the Games’ flag was lowered, and the flame extinguished.
The ceremony which was an opportunity for athletes who took part to enjoy their accomplishments, while saying farewell, was attended by Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina.
The highlight of the ceremony was the handing over of the Games’ flag to the Comoros – the country that has won the hosting rights for the next Games in 2027.
The Comoros will host the 12th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in 2027, while Maldives have been assigned the 2031 Games.
The decision was taken during the meeting of the Games International Committee (CIJ) held in Antananarivo last week.
During the meeting, the bidding countries – the Comoros, Maldives, and Mayotte – did not have the right to vote, and the Comoros was chosen unanimously by Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, and Madagascar.
The Comoros previously made a bid to host the Games but was not successful due to lack of adequate infrastructure.
It was the president of the Games’ International Committee (Cij), and president of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) Antonio Gopal who handed over the Games’ flag to Comorian Sports Minister Djaffar Salim Alaoui.
The 11th Games featured 17 sports disciplines, namely athletics, basketball, boxing, badminton, cycling, football, weightlifting, handball, judo, karate, wrestling, swimming, rugby, tennis, table tennis, pétanque, and volleyball.
To ensure the safety of all the athletes involved, the competitions were only held in Madagascar's capital city of Antananarivo.
In total, Seychelles won 84 medals at the 11th Games, precisely 11 gold, 33 silver and 40 bronze to finish fourth on the medals table.
The accompanying photos were taken by Patrick Joubert.
Roland Duval
