Kolkata, Oct 28 (IANS) The Assam Rifles under the Army’s Spear Corps have started preparations for the 10th edition of the Late Capt N Kenguruse, Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) Memorial Football Tournament, scheduled to take place at the IG Stadium in Kohima, Nagaland, between November 2 and November 9, 2026.
A street performance at Kohima by the Indian Army and Assam Rifles Jazz Band, along with prominent singers from Nagaland, celebrated local talent and built enthusiasm for the event on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
The tournament, organised in association with the Nagaland Football Association, offers a prize pool of Rs 8.69 lakh to encourage youth participation in football. Captain Neikezhakuo Kenguruse was born on July 15, 1974 and hailed from Nerhema village in the Kohima district of Nagaland.
He did his schooling at St Xavier School in Jalukie and finished his graduation from Kohima Science College. He then served as a teacher at the Government High School in Kohima from 1994 to 1997.
On December 12, 1998, Capt Kenguruse was commissioned into the Army Service Corps (ASC) of the Indian Army. As his first assignment, Capt Kenguruse was posted to the unit deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. He was ‘Neibu’ to his family and ‘Nimbu Sahab’ to his troops in the Army.
When the Kargil War started in 1999, Capt Kenguruse was deputed as a junior commander in the Rajputana Rifles battalion deployed in the Drass sector. He was made the lead commander of the Ghatak Platoon of his battalion for his determination and prowess.
The Ghatak platoons comprise the most physically fit and motivated soldiers of the Army. Specially trained, they are the ones to make the first to make the first waves of attack against the enemy.
Capt Kenguruse’s Ghatak platoon was given the responsibility of taking out a strategic machine gun post held by the enemy on a cliff face, the Black Rock, on the night of June 28, 1999.
Heavy gunfire from this position had been hindering the battalion’s progress in the sector for days, and it was very crucial to neutralise this enemy position. The gun post was on a cliff with a steep gradient, and the path was open to enemy artillery fire, making the assigned task extremely challenging for the Ghatak platoons.
The young officer did not flinch, took up the challenge and swung into action along with his troops. About seven Pakistani bunkers stood before them, and heavy artillery greeted their journey up the knife-edge cliff of the hill.
As they were nearing the first bunker, a grenade was thrown at them, which injured Capt Kenguruse severely. He sustained splinter injuries in his abdomen, but undeterred, he urged his men to carry on with the assault.
The commando came under intense mortar and automatic fire as they scaled the cliff. This caused heavy casualties. Capt Kenguruse, however, kept leading from the front and decimated the first bunker using a rocket launcher.
Motivated by his leadership, the Ghataks moved on further up the cliff. On reaching the final cliff face, they were halted by a rock wall that separated them from the enemy machine-gun post. They had to scale the wall to reach the enemy.
Capt Kengeruse’s foothold was slipping due to his boots when he attempted to secure the rope, enabling his men to climb over the rock face.
At a height of 16,000 feet and a temperature of -10 degrees Celsius, the officer kicked off his shoes for better grip and scaled the rock barefoot. When two enemy soldiers from the second bunker charged towards him, he engaged them in hand-to-hand combat and hacked them to death with his commando knife.
As he approached the third bunker, however, a stream of bullets threw him off the cliff, and he plunged down the cliff, a few hundred feet below.
Capt Kenguruse single-handedly destroyed two bunkers and was responsible for neutralising the enemy position. His act of bravery had a profound impact on his troops, who got charged up to capture the position and kill the enemy troops to avenge his death.
The assigned mission was successful, and the troops attributed their success to the unfaltering leadership and daredevil action of Capt Kenguruse.
Martyred at the age of 25 years, Capt Kenguruse was honoured with the nation’s second-highest gallantry award, “Maha Vir Chakra”, posthumously, for his raw courage, indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice.
Capt Kenguruse also went on to become the first and the only recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra from the Army Service Corps(ASC). Realising the immense respect that the people of Nagaland have for this brave warrior, the Army has been organising the football tournament in his honour for the last several years.
It has now turned out to be one of the most sought-after football tournaments in the state.
–IANS
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