Nagaland women’s sepaktakraw team with coach Puleno Neikha
at the Khelo India Beach Games.
DIMAPUR — Puleno
Neikha, coach of Nagaland’s women’s sepaktakraw team, referring to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s message delivered during the inauguration of the first
edition of the Khelo India Beach Games, where he spoke about the transformative
power of sports, said the impact of sports has already begun in Nagaland and
this initiative by the Government of India will now open new avenues of
opportunity for Nagaland girls.
In a press statement, Neikha said that sepaktakraw is the
most prevalent and popular sport in Nagaland, introduced in 1995 as a
recreational activity. It was initiated by physical education teacher Holse
Khario and technically supported by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Since
then, sepaktakraw has come a long way in Nagaland, with a large number of boys
and girls now registered in the sport.
Since 2004, she said, the state government has made special
arrangements for sepaktakraw training in Dimapur.
Coach Puleno, herself a former national-level player and
women’s team coach at the 2018 Asian Games, currently trains girls at SAI. Six
girls from her team are currently serving in the Nagaland Police, three of whom
secured their jobs due to their achievements in sepaktakraw.
“Our girls have won medals at every level. We won the bronze
medal in the first edition of the Khelo India Beach Games. Before that, we won
medals at the Goa National Games and again this January at the senior
nationals. In addition, our boys and girls won multiple medals at the Khelo
India Youth Games held in Bihar.
“Our players have been consistently winning medals at all
Khelo India events. Now that the Government of India has launched the Beach
Games, I believe this will open up new doors of opportunity for our children,”
Puleno said.
Puleno shared that sepaktakraw is widely recognised in
Nagaland and that the government is taking several steps to promote it. As a
result, the state has produced many outstanding international players.
“The sport is consistently featured on the Khelo India
platform, and its inclusion in the very first Beach Games is proof of its
growing popularity across the country. This will definitely benefit the players
in the times to come.” Puleno added.
Ketose Thiyosikose, head of the Nagaland delegation in Diu
and sports director in Dimapur, mentioned that a special grassroots talent hunt
is being conducted for sepaktakraw.
“We conduct coaching camps in rural areas, and most of our
players come from these regions. Most of the girls playing in Diu are from
rural backgrounds. We take them into our academy between the ages of 10 and 14,
where they gain years of experience. The selected children are trained in open
grounds, which helps them adjust better to playing on sand,” Thiyosikose said,
adding, “Naga girls are highly dedicated. Being from a hilly region, they have
always been naturally good at sepaktakraw.”
The Khelo India Beach Games, taking place from May 19 to the
24th in Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu, mark the first beach
edition under the Khelo India banner. The event features six medal sports—beach
soccer, beach volleyball, beach sepaktakraw, beach kabaddi, pencak silat, and
open water swimming—and two demonstration sports, mallakhamb and tug of war.
