Kohima: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Monday said the state government has acquired 13 acres of land to build an indoor wrestling stadium.The stadium will be built in partnership with the Nagaland Wrestling Association (NWA), said Rio, speaking at the 28th Naga Wrestling and 2nd Under-16 Naga wrestling championship meet organised by the NWA at Khuochiezie in Kohima.
This announcement comes two years after Rio announced that the state government would construct a wrestling stadium.
The proposed wrestling indoor stadium will be built at Tsiesema, about 10 km from Kohima town, with a seating capacity of around 15,000 to 20,000. The model for the stadium will be a Sumo wrestling indoor stadium, which will also host all kinds of indoor games that can attract huge audiences.
As part of the partnership, NWA will acquire the loan to build the stadium for which the state government will be the guarantor.
To promote the sport, which is the biggest crowd-puller in the state, Rio said that the state government would extend grants to train the wrestlers and promote all types of wrestling, including the indigenous Naga wrestling, national freestyle wrestling and belt wrestling.
While the Naga wrestling is popular among only three Naga tribes, namely Angami, Chakhesang, and Zeliang, the chief minister urged the wrestling body to extend the game beyond the three tribes. He advised NWA to reach out to the other tribes in training and coaching sportspersons to take part in the indigenous sports championship.
Rio, who is also the president of the Nagaland Olympic Association (NOA), said that the State’s sports police batallion was launched to provide employment opportunities to sportspersons and also nurture them.
As he acknowledged the NWA for providing a platform to children below the age of 16 years to participate in the Naga wrestling championship, he advised wrestlers to begin learning the tactics of the game from a young age to excel in the sport.
He urged the wrestlers to be dedicated, disciplined, work on their strength, stamina and techniques of the sport. Further, he advised Naga wrestlers to be proud ambassadors of the indigenous sport.
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