ITANAGAR, May 16: The State level football & volleyball tournament (Under-16 boys & girls) for Hangpan Dada Memorial Trophy (HDMT) 2026, which witnessed a grand opening at the general ground, Aalo in West Siang district on Saturday, was marked by a girls’ football match in which West Kameng gave a sound hammering to Pakke Kessang, with the final whistle showing a 8-0 verdict for the winners.
In other matches, Upper Subansiri edged past Changlang 2-1, while Namsai overcame a spirited challenge from Siang with an identical margin.
Earlier, the first match between Longding and Kra-Daadi ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
In the boys’ section, Siang blanked East Siang 3-0, while Longding followed the suit against Dibang Valley.
However, the opening match ended in a deadlock, as two goals were shared between hosts West Siang and Shi-Yomi.
With football hogging the limelight on Day 1, another popular sport – volleyball will be set in motion – from tomorrow.
The prestigious tournament is set to see a pact schedule from tomorrow onwards. As many as 30 matches, including 18 in football (boys-10 & girls-8) and 12 in volleyball (6 each in two categories), are scheduled for Sunday in four different venues across the district headquarters of West Siang.
The Day 2 will start with two matches each in boys’ and girls’ football. Simultaneously, the volleyballers will be seen in action in three encounters each. The much awaited tournament was kicked off by Sports & Youth Affairs Minister Kento Jini.