Imphal, January 24: The 20th Sports Meet of the Liangmai Sports Association, Assam Manipur and Nagaland (LSA-AMN) kicked off on Wednesday at Thonglang Akutpa village in Senapati district of Manipur amidst fanfare and much sporting extravaganzas.

Altogether, 27 football teams (male), 26 volleyball teams (male), 10 female football teams and 16 female volley ball teams from 31 Liangmei villages in the three states of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland will compete in the sports meet.

The spirit and enthusiasm of the sportspersons, sports lovers and dignitaries who attended the opening ceremonies was also heightened to a new pinnacle as Thonglang playground also showed the rich cultural heritages of the people of the area cutting across communal lines.

Addressing the gathering at the function as chief guest, Manipur Hill Areas Committee (HAC) Chairman, Thangminlen Kipgen while referring the absence of prominent sportspersons from the Liangmei community worth a name to reckon with for the last 25 years, he wishes that, the 20th LSA sports meet be a fountain for the community to produce many able sportspersons in the state.

Saying that without any commitment no one can achieve success, he also maintained that the youths should not mistake the sports meet as mere festival that comes once in a year.

Instead, it must try to prove its knack by making out talents with noticeable outcome.

Thangminlen also asked whether the numerous sporting events that have been organized in various hill areas of the state had any positive outcome till now.

While declaring the sports open, the chief guest also promised to donate Rs 1.50 lakhs from his local funds for the construction of community sports office in Thonglang Akutpa village.

He also doled out sports materials to the LSA and gives cash incentives to various cultural troupes including some other communities of Manipur and the two teams from Nagaland who participated in the sports meet.

Asserting that sports as an integrating force, he also suggested to the LSA to conduct inter-community sports meet of the area to smoothen relations and promote peaceful co-existence.

Functional president on the occasion, K.Raina, MLA expressed his appreciation to the efforts of the Liangmei youths in organizing such meet and he said that, the community will be benefited by their contributions.

He extolled the youths to be a role models for their society.

The guest of honor, Awangbow Newmei, MLA said that sport is the universal language the whole world speaks in common.

And sports love everybody and everybody loves sports.

He said the two things that sports hate are sportspersons without game spirit and sportspersons using intoxicants.

Speaking on the occasion, Dara Newmei, president of LSA said that sport is a religion which various communities of the world worships, but lack of infrastructures crippled the growth of sportspersons.

He said that, though the LSA was formed in 1983, it has been going without having any single standard playground, till date.

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