Guwahati, Feb 21 (UNI) The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Manipur's biggest insurgent group, is all praise for the athletes who participated in the just concluded 33rd National Games here.

''Against the backdrop of the conflict, the performance of our players needs to be lauded wholeheartedly. They have emerged triumphant in whatever disciplines they had participated in. We are proud of their achievements in this National Games,'' a UNLF statement said.

The ULFA had earlier banned the National Games and asked sportspersons not to participate, UNLF had been issuing public statements to felicitate the sportspersons of Manipur, who had grabbed the second position with 51 gold medals.

''We are equally proud of our sports persons who represented other states,'' the statement added.

Though ULFA withdrew its boycott call following an appeal by a few legendary sportspersons of Asom, it had said in a statement that they would not allow such games or events in future.

Asom ended the medals' tally in the third place with 38 golds, a 'superlative' achievement considering the fact that last National Games they ended with only one gold medal.

However, the ULFA issued a fresh statement in its newsletter yesterday with no mention about the sportsperson's achievement.

The UNLF had shown their interest in sports earlier in 1999 by hosting the 31st National Games successfully.

UNI