The 12th edition of the Luke Sasong Memorial Volleyball Trophy 2022 organized by the Luke Sasong Sporting Association under the aegis of Mangmetong Students’ Union commenced at the Multi-Purpose Sports Complex, Mokokchung on Tuesday with Longdiba L Sangtam, SDO (C), Mokokchung gracing the inaugural program as the Guest of Honour.
During his speech, Longdiba L Sangtam, highlighting on the life of Luke Sasong, who was one of the first educationists and a prominent personality from Mangmetong village stated that after one’s demise, people remember the good deeds one had done and that is how the Luke Sasong Memorial Volleyball Trophy came into being.
He went on to say that India, by 2025, will become the youngest country with 63 percent of the population being youths. In reference to this, he stated that sports are becoming an industry and that young people can pursue sports as a career and benefit from it in a big way. However, he observed that young people in Nagaland only participate in sports for recreational purposes. He continued by saying that as every person has a particular set of skills, parents also play a crucial part in shaping young people to be able to select and support their preferred career in a wise manner.
As volleyball is a popular sport among the Naga people, he added, “Mokokchung provides a very good platform for the promotion of volleyball to the youths.” He also praised various organizations and associations for holding such competitions, which would ultimately increase the athletic opportunities. “It is high time to take sports as a profession,” he remarked.
In a brief speech, Imtipokyim, President of the Mokokchung District Volleyball Association, commended the organizers for successfully transitioning a village-level tournament into a district-wide open tournament. He went on to express hope that the tournament would foster the development of professionals among the participants.
All together 12 teams are participating in the Tournament with 1 team from Wokha, 1 team from Kohima and 10 teams from Mokokchung.
Earlier, President, Mangmetong Students’ Union presented the welcome address while Chairman, Mangmetong Village Council gave a brief exhortation followed by convenor, Technical Committee overseeing the oath taking ceremony.
The inaugural match of the tournament witnessed a close quarter contest between Pangti Volleyball Team and Shipu Sporting Club, Sungkomen where the latter came on top winning two straight sets in a best of three format with the score line 24-26; 23-25