Local kickboxing body blasts state Olympic association
Shillong, May 25: Despite being so determined to get to the upcoming WAKO World Cup that he even took out a personal loan to finance his participation in the kickboxing event, Hameshaniah Suiam (as well as his team mates from Meghalaya) will not be going to Russia, the martial artist has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference here yesterday, an unhappy Suiam (pictured seated right) informed that although he was able to secure a loan of more than Rs 1 lakh, time had become too short to apply for a Russian visa.
“It’s very sad news for me and I’m very upset for the team also,” Suiam, who reached a world ranking of 28 last year, said. “We cannot just go to Russia so easily. It will take 10-15 days to get the visa and by then the tournament (which starts on 30th May) would be over.”
Being told by the Indian team officials that it was too late to apply for a visa must have been a bitter blow to one of Meghalaya’s best current martial arts practitioners, but he still managed a note of optimism.
“It is very unfortunate because we did very well last year in the World Championship where we finished in fifth position. I hope to take part and do well in the Indian Open, which will be held in the month of October in New Delhi and other upcoming events and bring honour to our state,” Suiam said.
Meanwhile, the press conference was called by the Meghalaya State Kickboxing Association (MSKA), of which Suiam participates under, who claimed that the Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA) has not acted on an application for affiliation submitted by the MSKA in August last year.
In a letter to the MSOA sent on 18th May, MSKA Working President Lorenzo Warjri stated that the State Olympic Association’s delay in accepting the affiliation request is “very sad” and that the “ethics of sport have been manipulated, violated and sidelined”.
The letter further added that the MSKA fears for the National Games 2022, which Meghalaya is to host, if this is the way the state Olympic Association conducts its business.
Kickboxing in Meghalaya is currently split between those operating under the aegis of the MSKA and Meghalaya Association of Kickboxing Organisations (MAKO). Both organisations are at loggerheads and there appears to be little progress (or effort) on the part of the MSOA or Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs to sort out the mess.
(Photo contributed)
