DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 17: State Vigilance Commissioner, KT Sukhalu, encouraged the budding sportspersons of the state to hone their talents and pursue their dreams to excel at the national and international levels.
Addressing the closing function of the 29th Leo Club Inter-School Table Tennis tournament on Sunday evening at Lions Club, Dimapur, KT Sukhalu, encouraged the participants to make the best used of the talents and pursue their dream in sports as it doesn’t require any academic degree.
“You may not have a degree, but if you have the potentials and believe in yourself, you can go a long way. There are many sportsperson who are not graduates or post-graduate but they have a God given talent which they have built it over the years,” he mentioned.
To build up sports as a career he said, “We need to have perseverance, commitment and confidence.” He said only then “you will definitely go very far.”
He pointed out that there was a time when young people didn’t have the avenues to develop their sporting skills, but added today things are changing. He also acknowledged the problems faced by the Table Tennis Association Nagaland due to lack financial supports from the government. “We have table tennis association in Nagaland but with one or two lakh, how can an association take care on the requirement of the entire state? We have 11 districts, so many clubs to manage and the state level tournament to encourage young people,” Sukhalu said.
However, he appreciated Leo Club for its initiative to organise such a tournament and expressed confidence that many young people will benefit from it.
He further expressed concern over common attitude among Naga sportsperson who are easily carried away with recognition or fame and subsequently ended up in doom.
“Once you get a little recognition, you start losing your focus. You become popular or miss popular wanted by everybody. But in the process you lose your direction. Many boys and girls are getting carried away,” he pointed out. He also made comparison of fame to a flower saying, “it is like plucking a flower, once you pluck the flower, it cannot last a day.”
Delhi Public School emerged winners in boys’ Doubles as well as Singles category. In girls’ category, Doubles winner was bagged by Pranab Vidyapith School and Zakiesato Memorial Higher Secondary School (ZMHSS) as runner-up. ZMHSS also emerged as the winners in girls’ single. The best discipline team was awarded to Maple Tree School, Dimapur.
The tournament was organised by Leo Club of Dimapur in which 13 different schools participated.
