Morung Express News Dimapur | May 4 The ‘Victor’ First North-East Masters (Veteran) Badminton Championship got underway here at Kuda (Nagarjan) Youth Badminton Stadium, which was graced by Lok Sabha MP, Neiphiu Rio, as chief guest in the inaugural ceremony. The ‘Victor’ (a sports manufacturing company of badminton racquets and accessories) championship is hosted by the Dimapur District Badminton Association (DDBA) under the aegis of Nagaland Badminton Association. The Lok Sabha MP in his address said badminton is one of the most played games in the country after cricket and gaining popularity and mass participation even to the grassroots. Rio said Asian countries like China, Japan and Indonesia are top-ranked countries in the global badminton arena and even India has currently move up to 9th position in global ranking. He said the physical structure and reflexes of the Asians are suitable for this game and that people of North-East should also make best use of the advantage. Lauding Victor Company for promoting the game in the NE as part of the latter’s social corporate responsibility, Rio said it is fitting that the veteran players should lead the way in promoting the game and inspiring the youngsters to take the game to a new level. The MP hoped that in Nagaland too, the veterans would set up badminton academies to groom and train the upcoming players. Rio further said that though politics, war and even religion tend to divide people, but games and sports unite and bring people together cutting across ethnic, religion or national boundaries. Six NE states including Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and host state Nagaland are taking part in the 3-day event. The championship is being simultaneously played at GHSS badminton auditorium.
