T R Zeliang
Sports in particular directly signify the participation and importance of the youth of today. What they achieve in the field usually trickles down to the mindset of the populace, since any society, especially our Naga society is highly outnumbered by the youth of the day. Sports and Games are essential for building the character of our youth since sports demands discipline, fair play, team spirit and peace (the sign of forgive and forget). Therefore Discipline, a fit physique and a sound mind is the secret to success!!
Infrastructure and development:
As India has decided to hold the next commonwealth games, numerous discouraging factors have emerged. The most important one being accommodation. Every country would like to ensure that their players get the best treatment, for they are the jewels of their country, so can India live up to that expectation? Do we segregate the rich countries from the poor (which will have repercussions) all these questions will have to be tackled very delicately, so as not to cause a national disgrace and dilemma. When Delhi is facing such dilemmas, how can we ever imagine Guwahati trying to tackle the same problem for the next national game? A State may construct a state of the art stadium, but players and athletes are not going to sleep and eat there. Therefore my challenge to you today is, are we Nagas prepared to face such a dilemma or scenario? It is time we Nagas became more realistic in our beliefs and efforts, and only then we can say that we are getting somewhere. Development is important but so is management. Today, in our State we have Indoor Stadiums in all District Headquarters, but maintenance is always the problem.
Importance of indigenous Sports:
It is time Nagas encouraged their ethnic sports for one day it may become a national game, if given proper backing and sponsorship, such as Taekwondo is to Koreans, Judo to the Japanese and much highlighted Martial Arts and Shaolin is to the Chinese. All these sports have reached heights which were never even dreamed of before the IInd World War. I had mentioned the same thing, yesterday at the gathering of Baptist Youths Sports meet at Jalukie.
The importance of Sports of NE region:
If a Japanese, Korean, a Chinese, a Malaysian or even a Thai or Bangladeshi can bring a Gold medal home, why not us? We have many talented Youths and also those who are capable of contesting in the international level, but the only thing we lack is the sincere of the youth/NGO’s to earn the support of the State Governments as well as the Central Government. There are enough sportsmen and women in the NE who are capable and willing to bring in laurels for the country, and it is up to us to pressure our governments to ensure their future and also their present stability, financially as well as officially.
In conclusion, I appreciate the Angami Students Union and the NSF office bearers and the numerous patrons for organizing this sport meet successfully. This sports meet highlights the sacrifice made by lt. Kekuozelie and lt. Vikhozo for the welfare of the Naga, thus the youth of Nagaland as a whole. Therefore let us never let them down, for our achievements will be a blessing to them and our success worth their sacrifice. I extend my best wishes to both the teams. May the better team win! As the saying goes, “Success is never final and failure is never fatal, but it is courage that counts.” Kuknalim!
The writer is MP, Rajya Sabha, and the above is his speech presented on the occasion of “The NSF Martyrs Trophy” organized by Angami Students Union on October 28.
