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DIMAPUR — The 1st Ethnic Community Tug of War (Nagaland Open) organised by the Western Chakhesang Youth Organisation (WCYO) in collaboration with Nagaland Tug of War Association on the theme “Oneness on the rope of peace” will be held on January 30, 2024 at DDSC Stadium, Dimapur.
Announcing this at a press conference on Wednesday at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur, the president of Nagaland Tug of War Association (NTWA), Vekho Swuro, said all the communities living in Nagaland can compete in the event, as the objective of the event is to promote peace.
A total of 36 teams, including security personnel like BSF, CRPF, Assam Rifle, and Nagaland Police; 19 Naga communities, and 14 non-Naga communities, have registered so far to compete in the event, he said, adding that it will be held only for men- free style and free weight with eight participants in a team, as per the national standard.
The WCYO has been given the responsibility of organising the competition, as other tribe youth organisations were apprehensive when approached to take up the event, he said.
Speaking about the formation of NTWA, Swuro said that he took up the responsibility of Nagaland chapter on learning from officials about the obstacles faced, and went on to participate in the 36th Senior National Federation cup, as well as Senior National Championship of Tug of War India held in Arunachal Pradesh in September this year.
He said that they could not include all the tribes as it was taken up in a short notice, so the participants selected as per the tug of war results during last Hornbill Festival were made to participate in two categories, wherein they won silver in mixed category (4 men and 4 women) and reached the semi-final in men’s category.
He acknowledged that the participants from the state lacked the technique as they were not trained but got through due to their sheer strength.
Wekupe Therie, president of WCYO, informed that tug of war is included in the ‘World of Games’, which is held every four years. He said that they thought organising a competition would boost the game and help train the enthusiasts from the state to enable them to compete at various levels.
He also informed that the registration fee for the event is INR 5000 per community, while the entry fee for spectators is INR 50 for gallery and INR 1000 for donors.
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