Coaching of Naga wrestlers underway at Thizama

EMN
KOHIMA, OCT 5

With the 55th Senior National Championship for men and the 16th for women, scheduled to be held at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata from November 14 to 17, the Nagaland Wrestling Association (NWA) is getting the Nagaland team ready for participation in the national event wherein 27 state teams from across the country are expected to take part.  A total number of 23 Naga wrestlers including 3 women are currently undergoing intensive coaching at Thizama on a daily basis from 5:30 to 7:30 am in the morning and from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in the evening. They are being trained under 4 coaches, namely, Kikwesül, Chisazo and Sapi under Free Style category and Vilhou under Greco Roman Style category.
Highlighting on this, NWA President, Neikhrolo Khalo said there is great potential for Naga sportsmen to go international while especially making mention of disciplines such as wrestling, boxing and archery, which, he greatly felt can go even to the Olympics. There is bright future especially for these areas, he noted.
However, he was concerned that in spite of the immense scope exhibited by the players, there is lack of training hall and facilities in the state. “We are really suffering because of the lack of infrastructure”, he stated. But he said, the NWA is very grateful to the 4th NAP Thizama Commander, Vekhosa for allotting their barrack for coaching the players and for extending full support and cooperation, apart from giving accommodation to the players.
In the meantime, a member of the NWA pointed out they do get financial assistance from the state government in the form of 5 lakhs per year but he said that the cost one time coaching exceeds over 5 lakhs. “We are surviving on the contributions from friends and well wishers”, he said.
Mention may be made here that the Nagaland Wrestling Association was formally formed in 1969 with W.C Krome as the first president and in the year 2002 got affiliated to the Wrestling Federation of India. It is also affiliated to the Nagaland Olympics Association. Prior to the year 2002, the team had been confined only to Naga style wrestling but has over the years expanded. In 2007, the NWA also participated in the National Games and won Bronze medal. Apart from this feat, it has further won several other medals from participation in various national and North East championships. More recently, the NWA took part in the Junior Cadets Wrestling at Kanyakumari during June 2013.