KIYG2021:Fighting spirit and natural talent behind rise and rise of Manipur

KIYG2021:Manipur’s Mutum Thoisana Singh had a very tough decision to make last week: either miss his deceased father’s shrad ceremony or miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the Khelo India Youth Games in Panchkula.

Three days after opting to take the flight, a thin smile finally crept back on his face when he stood on the podium with a gold medal around his neck.

Born in a financially challenged family, Mutum has seen more downs than ups: he had to even drop out of school at an early age because his parents couldn’t afford to pay his fees.

Just when he could have strayed in life in strife-torn Manipur, thang-ta came to his rescue. It gave him purpose as well as the means to survive and stay in the mainstream.

Rare natural talent and an incomparable passion for sport, has seen Manipur emerge as a sporting powerhouse in recent years. And most of the outperformers that they have produced in recent years, including a couple of Olympic medalists and an array of World and Asian Champions and international players in several disciplines, are similar stories of triumph over hardships.

The tiny state has arrived with an 83-member contingent here, bristling with talent and medal contenders.

“We have potential champions in boxing, judo, cycling, weightlifting, hockey (boys) and football (girls) and aim to regain our place among the Top 10 finishers,” Y Bony Singh, deputy director (sports) of the Youth Affairs and Sports Office said here on Monday. Manipur had finished fifth in the inaugural 2018 event before slipping in the Guwahati edition.

The genesis of Manipur’s sports emergence goes back to 1999 when Imphal hosted the National Games. “It was a landmark event for us as a lot of sports infrastructure was built,” recalled Davis Kangjam, OA, Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of Manipur.

Not much was done in the interregnum, forcing Manipur’s top talents to seek greener pastures elsewhere. But under the leadership of Chief Minister N Bijen Singh, a former footballer, the funding for sports has increased with a focus on infrastructure development. Several Khelo India centres are also coming up to energize the scene at the grassroots. The state has also begun giving incentives to athletes like jobs/awards for medal winners.

“It’s not about winning medals, but sports is very much part of our culture,” Kangjam pointed out. “Although Manipur is poor, every nook and corner of the state has a sports club which encourages people to play. In March every year during yaoshang (the Manipuri version of Holi), a festival of sports is held over five days and all sports clubs organise events across several disciplines like athletics, arm wrestling, kabbadi, football etc.”

The physical attributes of the sturdy Manipuris also gives them a winning edge in competition, Kangjam opined. Sportspersons from rival states who have finished on the losing side to Manipur will surely agree.