ITANAGAR, 29 Sep: Three kickboxers from Arunachal Pradesh will represent India at the Wako World Children’s, Cadets & Juniors Kickboxing Championship, scheduled to be held in Venice, Italy, from 30 September to 9 October.
The players are Guchi Laila, Licha Sep and Ruba Takio.
They have been selected based on their recent medal-winning performances at the Wako India Sub-Junior, Cadet & Junior National Kickboxing Championship, which was held in Kolkata in July this year.
Laila will be competing in the junior below 48 kg K1 event, while Sep will participate in the junior below 65 kg point fight. Takio will participate in the junior below 54 kg point fight event, informed Kickboxing Association of Arunachal (KAA) general secretary Charu Govin.
Hailing from Gaa village in Kamle district, Laila had won a silver medal in the K1 event in the championship in Kolkata. Sep and Takio had won a gold medal each in their respective categories in the championship. Sep hails from Deem village in Lower Subansiri district, while Takio hails from Ruba village in Kurung Kumey district.
The KAA general secretary appealed to the state government to “at least provide the to and fro journey expenses of the participating players.”
He said that “the world championships are considered next to the Olympic Games,” and lamented that “reimbursements for two world championships and five national championships of the association have not been made and are still pending in the sports department.”
The association said it is very difficult to participate in such events without support and funding from the state government.
“Yet the association is trying its best to promote the sport of kickboxing in Arunachal, without any assistance from the department,” Govin said.
He further said that “the association will remain indebted to Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his government for extending all necessary help at the very crucial moment, where one kickboxer from the state succumbed to head injury he had received during a bout at the Wako India Seniors & Master’s National Kickboxing Championship,” which was held in Chennai (TN) in August this year.
