Longtsukumba and Kekhrieneitso win silver, Arsenba secures bronze
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 28
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters from Nagaland brought laurels once again as Longtsukumba Ao and Kekhrieneitso Angami won silver medals in the Striking MMA category while Arsenba Ozukum won bronze at the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) Asian MMA Championships at Kyrgyzstan on August 28.
GAMMA is the global governing body for mixed martial arts (MMA). As per the official GAMMA website, athletes competed across two divisions- mixed martial arts and Striking MMA in the event which featured 32 weight classes, nine in each division for men and seven in each division for women. The new discipline- Striking MMA made its global debut at the GAMMA Asian MMA Championship 2021 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan on August 26.
Longtsukumba competed in the 170lbs (77kgs) Striking MMA category and stormed into the finals after defeating Elaman Koldoshev on Friday. In the final match on Saturday, Longtsukumba suffered a close decision against Yazan Jaber of Palestine.
Kekhrieneitso Angami defeated Shammas Latheef of India in the 155lbs (70kgs) Striking MMA category in the semi-final on August 27 to set up a final showdown with Nurtaza Jumakhanova of Kazakhstan.
Arsenba Ozukum was among India’s 11 bronze medalists at the event. It may be mentioned that the trio, along with two others from Nagaland- Mairidin Newmai and Limasunep Imchen were selected to represent India at the GAMMA Asian Championships held in Cholpan- Ata, Kyrgyzstan from August 24 to 28. All of them trained out of The Combat Academy- Nagaland, Dimapur.
Winning mentality
Longkumtsuba, also popularly known by the name Longsa Tiger, usually competes in the Featherweight division (65kgs). However, he took part in the Welterweight (77kgs) at the Championship. “Moreover, there was an added pressure of it being an international event,” he said.
However, making it to the finals was not a surprise. “As an athlete competitor, I came here to win,” Longkumtsuba said.
While he came short of the desired result in the finals, Longkumtsuba said, “I am happy as I gave my all.”
He also thanked God and everyone who extended support to them.
‘It’s only going to get better’
Their success at the championship was especially significant for one person back home in Nagaland. Khriemelie Metha, Head Coach of The Combat Academy was beaming with pride as he commended the players on their achievement.
Speaking to The Morung Express, Metha said that he was especially proud of the boys for the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout the tournament. Highlighting that the Asian MMA championship was their first exposure at the international level, Metha lauded their professionalism and for having brought laurels to the State and country.
“This is the first time they have travelled abroad and they faced fighters from countries that have had years of professional experience,” he said and added that he is “very happy and proud” of their achievement.
With three out of five participants from the academy winning medals at the international event, Metha expressed optimism that things will improve for Nagaland in the coming days.
“It’s only going to get better,” he shared, while adding that the players will come back with more experience to help them in their own performance as well as to share with the next generation of MMA fighters in the State.
