ITANAGAR, 8 Oct: Seven Pencak Silat athletes from Arunachal Pradesh, representing India, left for Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Tuesday to participate in the 8th Senior Asian Pencak Silat Championship, scheduled to be held there from 10 to 16 October.
The athletes are Meta Pao, Damsop Tungi, Likha Oum, Sonam Lamrah, Biki Yatang, Likha Aku and Tai Taling, North East Pencak Silat Federation general secretary Kipa Takar informed.
This is the first time that Pencak Silat athletes from Arunachal are participating in an Asian championship.
It is an official and calendar event, and the medal winners will have the opportunity to represent Indian at the World Pencak Silat Championship, he said.
Meanwhile, Takar appealed to the state government to set up a Pencak Silat training centre in Itanagar.
He said that the North East Pencak Silat Federation has been working for promotion of the sport in the region, particularly Arunachal Pradesh, for the last 5 to 6 years.
“However, we do not have our own training centre and academy, due to which our athletes face lot of challenges while preparing for international, state and even zonal level championships,” Takar said.
He said that despite the challenges, the athletes have shown outstanding performance at the Senior Pencak Silat Championship in Odisha and eight Pencak Silat athletes had qualified to represent the country at the Asian championship.