Kohima, January 7 (MExN): The 11th Open Naga Wrestling Championship is scheduled to be held on March 10 at the Kohima Local Ground. This was announced by the organisers, Nagaland Wrestling Association (NWA), in a release issued today. While announcing this, the NWA stated that the forms would be made available from February 20 onwards. In this regard, the NWA requested interested wrestlers to take note of the date and prepare themselves for the forthcoming event. Forms will be made available at NWA office, AMK Building Kohima, opposite Congress Bhavan, and the same would be made available at some shops in Kohima, Phek, Peren and Dimapur town. The total cash money for this year’s NWA Open championship is fixed at Rs. 4.60 lakhs. The champion will fetch a cash award of Rs. 1,50,000 while the second, third and fourth position holders will receive a prize money of Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 70,000 and Rs. 50,000 respectively. The losing quarterfinalists will be given Rs. 10,000 each, while the losing pre-quarterfinalists will receive Rs. 5,000 each. A major attraction for this year’s championship is that there will be a special award of Rs. 10,000 for the ‘Best tactic wrestler’. A select section of the crowd would also be allowed to vote for the best tactic wrestler. The eligible voters includes all the NWA officials, president and general secretary of the three NWA affiliating units, Angami Sports Association, Chakhesang Wrestling Association, Zeliang Wrestling Association and donor ticket holders. The voting for the best tactic wrestler will end with the quarterfinal round. Hereafter, the organisers will start collecting the voter’s ballot slip which will be issued before hand. The one-day event would be hosted by the Zeliang Wrestling Association, while the ground management will be taken care by the Angami Catholic Union – SFS Church, Kohima Town. The NWA expects that over 150 wrestlers from across Nagaland and neighbouring State Manipur will take part in the championship.
