Shillong, May 8: Martial Arts fighter from Laitkor, Lorenza Songthiang has brought laurels to the nation and tstate by winning the bronze medal at the World Pankration Championship held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The competition was held from April 30 to May 4.

Songthiang participated in the Senior Elite Group. She came in third position; the Gold and Silver were won by fighters from Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters, Songthiang said the event was one of the biggest stages in the world of Martial Arts.

By winning Bronze, Songthiang has also qualified for the World Combat Games to be held in October at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With this feat, she has also created history for Meghalaya by being the first from the state to qualify for the World Combat Games.

Songthiang met with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday and said Meghalaya government has assured financial help for the players. He

Another athlete, Ilawankmen Nongbri, who won a gold medal in the 2nd World Jeet Kune Do Championship held at Kandy, Sri Lanka in March 2023, also met the CM.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma took to social media to congratulate the budding athletes. “Today I met Lorenza Songthiang, a shining star in Pankration who will be competing at the World Combat Games at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this year. She creates history by being the 1st from Meghalaya to qualify for the World Combat Games,” he said on this twitter handle.

“I also met Ilawankmen Nongbri who won a Gold medal in the 2nd World Jeet Kune Do Championship held at Kandy, Sri Lanka in March 2023. It was my pleasure to meet these two talented young girls. I wish them the best,” he said in another post.