Cherry Blossom to witness first cage fight
'Local event will generate support for state fighters'
Shillong, Nov 12: The Cherry Blossom festival this year will, for the first time, witness mixed martial arts cage fight.
During a press conference, Isaiah Kharmawphlang, one of the founding members of Happy Red Rooster MMA institute in the city, said MMA is among the fastest growing sports. “We encourage all, especially the children, to take up MMA. It provides the skills and the required discipline. It also helps the youth to stay away from bad habits such as substance abuse,” he said.
The event, named the Meghalaya Cage Fight, at the festival in Ri Bhoi will see fighters from Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. Here will be international fighters from Afghanistan and Russia.
The fighters from Meghalaya who will be in the spotlight are Ribhalang Sunn, Darren Kharshandy, Johnny Nongrum, Genevieve Pakma, Donbestar Syiemlieh and Iohtylin Wankhar. The cage fight will take place on November 16.
Speaking to Meghalaya Monitor, Kharmawphlang said local events such as this will help local fighters gain popularity among the youth and MMA lovers.
“There is nothing like having home support for fighters. We hope that more such events are supported,” he said.
Gold for HRR
Karthik, a fighter from HRR, won gold at a national Brazilian Jiu-jitsu event in Bengaluru. He competed in the master’s division of DUEL, which took place for the first time in India. “It was a good experience for me as I got to meet participants from other states and roll with them. It helped me gauge my progress,” said the 37-year-old champion.
