From Nobap to the top stage : Manipur breathes, eats sports
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 18 2018 -
An Olympic medallist in the person of MC Mary Kom. Asian Games medallists.
Under 17 football team which took part in the U-17 World Cup in 2017, practically a team from Manipur.
All A teams in the I League and Indian Super League dominated by players from Manipur.
Three gold medallists from Manipur in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games and clearly the title Sports Powerhouse of the country fits Manipur well.
Just how seriously is sports taken by the people of Manipur can be gauged from a cursory glance at the daily newspapers with at least 7 or 8 tournaments of different sport disciplines underway at different parts of the State.
Long before Mary Kom, Laishram Sarita and others shot into the limelight there was Ngangom Dingko Singh who won a gold at the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998 and before Saikhom Mirabai and Kh Sanjita dished out their golden moments at the Commonwealth Games, there was N Kunjarani, Th Sanamacha and others who made it to the list of honours in their respective weight categories.
And long before the U-17 Boys football players from Manipur shot to stardom, Manipur gave class players to the top football teams of the country in the persons of L Gunabir, Somatai Shaiza, L James, Kiron Khongsai, Rennedy etal.
There were others before these boys and all these are indications that Manipur has been producing top class athletes in almost all the sports disciplines down the years.
It is line with this that Manipur has been chosen for the National Sports University, the foundation stone of which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the State on the completion of one year of the BJP Government in Manipur.
Fittingly two local clubs, born and nurtured on the soil of Manipur, Neroca FC and TRAU have made names for themselves at the National stage with the former finishing the runners up in the I League and the latter making the cut for the Second Division League and going strong.
What makes the achievements of the sportspersons from Manipur all that more remarkable is the fact that they have risen to the top level in the absence of any tangible support from the corporate houses.
Basically it has been a journey from the Nobap to the top stage for all the football stars from Manipur and the lack of resources is best exemplified in the cash incentives announced by the Government of Haryana and the Government of Manipur.
So while the Government of Haryana announced a cash incentive of Rs 1.5 crore for every gold medallist at the recently held CWG, in Manipur it is Rs 15 lakh.
Not that anyone will begrudge the State Government over the vast disparity, but this itself should tell how the sportspersons from Manipur have managed to rise to the top against all odds.
Amidst the good showing dished out by the sportspersons, it becomes pertinent to question whether the All Manipur Football Association will be able to set its house in order for what is happening to AMFA can certainly have a bearing on the performance of the players.
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