BOLENG, 10 Aug: A short height men’s volleyball tournament, with a net height of 7’2″ in comparison to the international standard net height of 7’11”, began at the general ground here in Siang district on Thursday.
Players with heights ranging from 5’5″ to 5’7″ tall are participating in the tournament, which is being organised by the North Eastern Sports & Cultural Organisation (NESCO).
Deputy Commissioner Atul Tayeng, along with Dosing Social Welfare Committee president Takum Tasing, and GHSS Boleng Principal Minni Lego attended the inaugural programme of the tournament.
NESCO chairman Aiyiangrunam alias Ibrahim Pajing informed that, “unlike boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, MMA and its allied branches, which have different weight categories for all types of people, most of the games and sports like high jump, long jump, shot put, discus throw, other track and field events, volleyball, basketball, swimming, etc, do not have separate height classes for shorter and smaller people of the world.”
“Other sports do not have separate height classes, which results in shorter sportspersons being unable to compete with taller and bigger athletes. Due to this disparity, the shorter and smaller people never get opportunities to compete in many of the games and sports events at various levels, which is great injustice done to the shorter and smaller people of the world,” Pajing said.
“Had there been no weight classes in boxing, there would have been no Mary Kom, no Manny Pacquiao, no De la Hoya, no Floyd Mayweather, no Sugar Ray Leonard, etc, which would have been dominated by bigger and taller boxers,” he added.
The NESCO has therefore initiated the IP height classification (IPHC) in several games and sports events, beginning with volleyball, he said.
The IPHC, as per the NESCO are:
(i) Very short height (below 5’4″).
(ii) Short height (5’4″ to 5’7″).
(iii) Medium height/normal height (above 5’8″ to 5’10”).
(iv) Tall height (5’11” to 6’2″).
(v) Very tall height/towering height (6’4″ to 6’6″), and
(vi) Super tall height/giant height (6’7″ and above).
“The organisation aims to conduct competitions in other disciplines and in track and field sports events, wherever it is applicable, and these competitions shall be conducted at district levels in the initial stage, based on this height classification” Pajing said.
He appealed to the “sports authorities at the state level and the national level in India to support the NESCO in its effort to officially recognise and implement this IP height classification in all other sports events like high jump, long jump, volleyball, basketball, and other track and field events, wherever it is applicable.” (DIPRO)
