The 28th Liangmai Sports Association meet concluded at Samziuram village in Peren, with Deputy Chief Minister TR Zeliang urging unity and growth through sports.
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DIMAPUR — The 15-day 28th edition of the Liangmai Sports Association, Nagaland, Manipur and Assam concluded on Wednesday at Samziuram village in Peren district, with Deputy Chief Minister TR Zeliang as the special guest.
Altogether 90 teams from the three states took part in the event across various disciplines.
Speaking on the occasion, Zeliang urged the organisers to work towards building a strong and united Zeliangrong sports platform that can compete at the Northeast, national and international levels. He said this goal was achievable and called for collective responsibility from apex sports bodies such as the Zeme Olympic Association, Liangmai Sports Association and Rongmei Sports Association to form formidable teams capable of participating in the I-League and other national and international competitions.
He said Zeliangrong youths have the talent and potential in sports, adding that the sporting history of the Zeliangrong people is proof of this. He also said participation in tournaments is not only about winning trophies but also about understanding one another better and strengthening unity among the people.
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He called upon the Zeliangrong community to look beyond Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei as separate entities and instead embrace the larger unity of the Zeliangrong people living across Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. “Our strength lies in our unity across boundaries and sports can act as a unifying event,” he said.
The deputy chief minister said the Zeliangrong people belong to one ancestor and share a common history, and emphasised the need to nurture unity through sports. He also assured that a sports academy would be set up at Jalukie for talented youths of the state.
In the final football match, Samziuram Progressive Organisation (Nagaland) and Chiang Youth Organisation (Manipur) played a closely contested match, with SPO winning the title through a penalty shoot-out.