Not bad going for Manipur : The Famous Five
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 26, 2012 -
Manipur finds itself a place under the Sun whenever it comes to the world of sports and five sportspersons from a State of 25 or so lakh of people heading for the London Olympics is certainly something to cheer about.
Not bad going at all.
Fit material for a case study if India wants to undergo a makeover from the favourite whipping boys to men of reckoning in the world of sports.
L Bombayla, Ng Soniya Chanu, Mary Kom, L Devendro and Kh Kothajit all epitomise the story of how sheer grit and determination can overcome all sorts of man made obstacles to be right up there amongst the best in the world.
No big money, no corporate houses coming in to extend financial help, no media coverage and certainly far removed from the glamour of cricket or tennis, it has been a case of aiming for the stars and not missing the target.
Not easy. Rewind a few years back and Mary Kom was an unknown world champion. Not known to the rest of the country and she certainly was not worth any prime space either in the print or electronic media.
Vocal that she is, she had to speak out her mind against the indifference of the Government with the local media chipping in with their bit to make her presence felt.
Today the country seems to have woken up to her stupendous achievements underlining the point of sheer grit and determination winning over all indifferences and at times even sneers and jeers. The stories of the other four sportspersons too have traversed a similar trajectory.
It has not been prominently mentioned and neither has it been felt that important to highlight, but interestingly out of the five selected from Manipur to represent the country at the Olympics, three are women.
This should not come as a surprise. In most of the National Games it has been the women who have come home with the lion's share of the medals.
No man from Manipur has gone on to attain the iconic status of a Mary Kom or a Sarita or a Kunjarani.
A case of women empowerment or a case of women being simply much better ? The debate is open.
Yet this is a point which has never been glossed over, never deemed important enough for discussion or deliberation but which definitely says something significant.
The five may or may not come back with medals, but more than half the job has already been done, given the circumstances in which they have had to hone their talents to be counted amongst the notables in the world.
This is not to write off their prospects at all, but an act of acknowledging what they have already achieved. A medal or two or three or even five would certainly be a fitting bonus.
Whatever the case or outcome maybe they are the Famous Five of Manipur.
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