KOHIMA— The team championship of the ongoing Li-Ning 45th Inter District and State Open Badminton Championship 2023 concluded in Kohima on Tuesday night with Mokokchung winning the first position in the junior girls' team championship.
Longleng won the second place in junior girls' team category.
In the junior boys' team championship, Peren won the championship title, while Phek secured the second position.
Dimapur won the first position in women's team championship and Mokokchung bagged the second position.
In the men's team championship, Peren were placed in the top position, while Dimapur secured the second position.
The tournament includes open category, featuring competitions for various age groups: U-9 (boys' singles), and U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19 (juniors) for both boys and girls.
The tournament also features competitions for both men and women in the senior category as well as mixed doubles events for both seniors and juniors.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Hosted by Nagaland Badminton Association (NBA) and co-hosted by Kohima District Badminton Association (KDBA), the five-day tournament will culminate with the finals of different categories on July 14 at the State Indoor Stadium.
Kesonyu Yhome, president of NBA, said that the association decided to support young talented players as it celebrates golden jubilee.
During an interaction with Eastern Mirror on Wednesday, Yhome, who is also the commissioner and secretary to Chief Minister, Works and Housing, informed that the association has made "two significant decisions" and proposed them to the government of Nagaland.
One of the proposals is to replace the current Indoor Stadium in Kohima with a state-of-the-art sports complex for badminton and table tennis games, he said, adding that the state currently doesn’t have facilities to host national-level competitions.
The proposal is a 5% jobs reservation in the group 3 category of government service for meritorious sports persons to encourage them to pursue sports seriously, he said, reiterating what he said during the inaugural programme of the sporting event earlier this week. He added that such initiatives would elevate sports to a new level and potentially produce players who can represent the nation within 10-15 years.
On Friday, the final day of the sporting event, the NBA will honour both past and present players at the State Indoor Stadium as part of its golden jubilee celebration.