NAGALAND: Chief minister Neiphiu Rio has congratulated three mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters of Nagaland — Kekhrieneitso Angami, Longtsukumba Ao, and Arsenba Ozukum for winning medals at the GAMMA Asian MMA Championship, 2021 at Kyrgyzstan.
Kekhrieneitso Angami, Longtsukumba Ao, and Arsenba Ozukum, who represented India at the championship, won two silver and one bronze medals respectively.
On Tuesday morning, Rio took to Twitter and congratulated the Naga fighters saying the trio has made the nation proud. The chief minister wished them success in the future.
The head coach of "The Combat Academy" (in which the MMA fighters were trained) in Dimapur -- Khriemelie Metha told reporters in Nagaland that Angami won silver in the lightweight category, Ao won silver in the welterweight category while Ozukum bagged bronze in the flyweight category. Besides the three fighters, two other MMA fighters Mairidin Newmai and Limasunep represented the country in the championship which concluded on Saturday.
All the five MMA fighters, who made their international debut by taking part in the championship, have taken training at The Combat Academy (TCA). Longtsukumba Ao has been training under it for the past five years, the other fighters have been doing the same for the past three years.
Northeast has witnessed good days in the recent past with athletes and fighters from the region participating in global events and winning medals. Lovlina Borgohain from Assam's Goalpara district had won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Games, 2020. She is the first Assamese girl to have achieved the feat. Following her achievement, the Assam government offered her Rs. 1 crore and the post of deputy superintendent of police in the state police.
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