YACHULI, OCT 9:
The Keyi Panyor district administration organised a district-level traditional games competition at the General Ground in Yachuli on Friday as part of Seva Sankalp Utsav 2026, aiming to preserve and promote indigenous sporting traditions.
The event was attended by Deputy Commissioner Ankita Mishra, Superintendent of Police Akanksha Milind Tamgadge, Zilla Parishad Chairperson (ZPC) Nabam Piju, Assistant Commissioner-cum-District Sports Officer-in-charge Mumne Borang, heads of departments, Zilla Parishad Members (ZPMs) representing all six constituencies, panchayati raj institution members, players and match officials from the Keyi Panyor District Olympic Association.
In her welcome address, Borang outlined the objectives of the competition and urged participants to uphold sportsmanship, discipline and mutual respect.
Addressing the gathering, Mishra expressed concern that traditional games were gradually losing prominence amid the growing popularity of modern sports such as badminton, tennis and football. She said Seva Sankalp Utsav provided an opportunity to revive the country’s traditional sporting heritage and urged participants to perform well in the state-level competition and bring recognition to the district.
Piju recalled how games such as gulli danda were once an integral part of everyday childhood. She urged the state government to make the traditional sports competition a regular event and assured participants of her support in their efforts to bring laurels to Keyi Panyor.
The competition featured archery, bamboo climbing, bamboo race, gulli danda and tug of war for men and women. The Keyi Panyor District Olympic Association provided match officials to ensure the smooth conduct of the events.
In the results, Joram Ade of Yachuli Zilla won archery, while Neelam Bath of Deed Zilla secured the bamboo-climbing title.
In bamboo race, Raban Pangta of Yachuli Zilla secured first position, followed by Taba Lej of Yazali Zilla and Khoda Tada of Deed Zilla.
In gulli danda, Licha Taja of Yazali Zilla won first position, followed by Jummar Karbak of Pitapool Zilla and Joram Lej of Yachuli Zilla.
Deed Zilla and Yachuli Zilla secured first and second positions respectively in the women’s tug of war. In the men’s event, Pitapool Zilla won first position, followed by Yazali Zilla and Yachuli Zilla.
The Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM), Keyi Panyor, also set up an information kiosk and distributed information, education and communication materials on skill development programmes under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), encouraging eligible youth to explore employment-oriented training opportunities.
The competition provided a platform for participants from the six Zilla Parishad constituencies to showcase their skills and competitive spirit while reinforcing the importance of passing indigenous games on to younger generations. (DIPR)
