A unique victory – Nagaland team bags honours at Sepak Takraw championship

From the unique North Eastern Himalayan region, we have national champions in an equally unique sport – Sepak Takraw.

Better known as kick volleyball, Sepak Takraw’s origins lie in the Malay-Thai Peninsula. Two Nagaland Sepak Takraw teams – sub junior and senior – were on a medal-winning spree at the 16th Sub-junior National Sepak Takraw Championship and the 3rd East Zone Sepak Takraw Championship respectively, which were held between July 28 and 31 in Manipur’s capital, Imphal.

The whopping medal tally for both the teams collectively was eight It was eventually the hosts Manipur who emerged the overall winners in the both the tournaments. There were 18 teams from five states – West Bengal, Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, which participated in event.

The senior team hogged the limelight with its excellent performance, pocketing three silver medals and a bronze medal in the East Zone Sepak Takraw Championship. Likewise, the sub junior team won two silver and two bronze medals in the Sub-junior National Championship. The men’s team from Nagaland showed its prowess in the sport by bagging a silver in the doubles and bronze in the regular event, in the 3rd East Zone Championship.

The women did not lag behind and they showed their mettle too in this unusual sport, which is a mix of volleyball and football. The team clinched silver medals, both in the team and doubles events.

Similarly, in the Sub-junior National Championship, the girl’s team won the silver in the team event and bronze in the regular event. The boys showed their spark by bagging two bronze medals in the team and regular events.

In all, the talented team from Nagaland comprised 32 players and both sub-junior and senior teams were mentored by coach Holshe Khrieo and manager Toshi Nungsang. There were two national referees as well – Arentoshi and Manentoshi – who helped add credibility to the event.

Taking an apt cue from Manipur, Nagaland plans to host the senior national championship of this rare sport between October 15 and 18 at Kohima. Nagaland citizens and sports enthusiasts would surely be proud about the youngsters who have made their mark in this exclusive sport. These bright and talented players have all the makings of being fantastic ambassadors of Sepak Takraw in the future.