In a major declaration, Meghalaya's Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh announced that the famous cloud leopard will be the official mascot of the 2022 National Games to be hosted by Meghalaya.

The Cloud Leopard is available throughout the forests of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills. "The members agreed that the cloud leopard will be the mascot for the National Games. A competition to design a smiling cloud leopard will be open to all," Lyngdoh said. There are also plans of acquiring 64.34 hectares of land from the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority to construct the Games Village. Before Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam had hosted the National Games amongst the Northeastern states.