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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 4 (EMN): The 25th Inter-District and State Table Tennis Championship 2022 is under way at Indoor Stadium in Officers Hill Colony Kohima on Tuesday in commemoration of 50 Years of Nagaland Table Tennis Association (NTTA) on the theme “Moving on”.
Players from 12 districts represented by over 200 players are vying for the championship with 61-year-old Mayang Longkumer, representing Kohima district, as the oldest player and eight-year-old Sumitoli Z Assumi, representing Zunheboto district as the youngest player.
Advisor of Youth Resources and Sports, Zale Neikha, who attended the inaugural session as the special guest, said table tennis is a game of simplicity, requiring very little in the way of equipment.
He said table tennis is a sport for all and a sport for life —it is particularly good for developing alertness and co-ordination while it is an intense game that can stimulate mental alertness and concentration, develops mental acuity, adding that it improves reflexes due to the fast-paced, short-distance nature of the sport, both gross and fine muscle movements are improved.
Neikha said, in the long run, active and continued participation in sports would pay rich dividends in terms of fitness, well-being, and happiness.
The advisor also said being a sportsperson gives confidence, strength and enhances physical productivity while it also teaches a person how to work in harmony with other people, accept defeat with equal ease and work as a consolidated unit.
"Winning and losing in sports is a part of the game, but the happiness originating from the participation in sports is a highly cherished trophy", said Neikha.
He viewed that in Nagaland, there are varieties of sports disciplines which could be played by all age of young and old with the availability of outdoor and indoor stadiums in the state, while he added that Nagas are very much fit to compete in indoor national and inter-national sports disciplines such as table tennis, sepaktakraw, badminton, boxing, etc where physicality does not create a disadvantage.
In this regard, he opined that if given a certain amount of dedication, determination, discipline and training at grassroots level from a young age, then Nagas can be renowned international rising stars.
He also thanked the stakeholders for sponsoring the trophy especially this year; the men’s and women's team championship trophy is being donated by the family of Late Nizheto Awomi and Late Thepuroko Sothu, who were the former champions, and the cash prizes sponsored by former and senior players of Nagaland Table Tennis.
While adding that this has not only provided the opportunity for Nagaland Table Tennis Association to showcase its ability to host major district and state table tennis events, but urged to continue raising the profile of players and encourage youth participation.
Earlier, welcome address was delivered by Swelul Pucho, President of Nagaland Table Tennis Association (NTTA) while Vitho Neikha, Convenor of Souvenir Committee presented '50 years of NTTA A Synopsis', a song was presented by Ale Kreo and the programme was compered by Kethose Chuzho.
The finale will be held on October 7 with Zaputuo Khezhie, 1st General Secretary of NTTA as special guest and Khyomo Lotha 1st President NTTA as Patron.