Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 31
Dimapur will witness the 2nd All India Kung-Fu Federation Cup 2023 and National All Martial Arts and Title Belt Open Championship over two days on November 1 and 2. The events will occur simultaneously at the DDSC Stadium, informed the organizer of the championships, Nagaland Kung-Fu Sports Association (NKSA). The previous edition of competition was held in Pune in 2022 where Nagaland also participated.
NKSA President Ikato Y Kiho, informed that it is an All India Kung-Fu Federation sanctioned competition. He told a press conference, today, that they 7 states have confirmed participation, including Nagaland. The list of states included Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tripura, Orissa and Nagaland. They were expecting participation from around 15 states but owing to unavoidable reasons, the other states could not.
The two-day event will see some 130 athletes (men-women/boys-girls) competing in various weight categories starting from 25 kg to 60 kg or above.
Asked if the event was getting the required institutional support, Kiho lamented that Kung-fu’s status as a non-Olympic discipline has had the sport struggling despite it being quite popular in the country. In Nagaland, he revealed that the NKSA has lobbied for governmental support but to no avail. The government’s response was that there was no fund for non-Olympic games. Nevertheless, he said that they have appealed the government to support and groom non-Olympic sports as well.
As for the competition at hand, he said that they were fortunate enough to have gotten support from individual donors and well-wishers that would go towards cash prizes for the medal winners. Gold and silver winners will receive Rs 7000 and Rs 5000. In the title belt open championship, the prizes will be Rs 15,000 for the champion and Rs 10,000 for silver.
The matches are scheduled to begin at 9:00 am, November 1, at the DDSC Stadium, where the Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur will be the special guest. Entry tickets are priced at Rs 50, general.
