Winning quite a number of medals viz. Gold, Silver and Bronze etc. at the various National Games up till now, speaks volumes for the proficiency of the sports persons of the tiny state of Manipur This spectacular success was the culmination of a long and sustained sports movement made by the people of Manipur from generation to generation. Endowed with muscular and agile bodies the people of Manipur fondly nourished a variety of indigenous games some of which greatly influenced our youths in adapting themselves to the newly introduced modern games. The salubrious climate and availability of nutritious foods are other natural ingredients for making the Manipuris fine sports persons.

Some of these traditional games like Sagol Kangjei (polo) and Kang (an indoor game) came down from generation to generation despite the competition from the modern games and today its popularity is increased considerably. Sagol Kangjei is now regularly played and popularized under the care of two state level organizations viz. All Manipur Polo Association (1955) and Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association (1977). The Government of Manipur in collaboration with the above two associations successfully organized an international polo tournament at the historic Imphal Pologround (Mapal Kangjeibung) in 1991.

Another very popular indoor game, which is being played in great gusto by both man and woman even now, is the Kang. Regular tournaments (including inter departmental) are held at suitable indoor courts specifically prepared for the game. The state level organizations viz. All Manipur Kang Association and the All Manipur Kang Control Board are looking after promotion and organization of the game in Manipur. Recently, the Kang Federation of Manipur was formed for the unification and overall control of the game in Manipur. Due to its popularity in Manipur, Kang was shown as a demonstration game during the 5th National Games at the newly constructed indoor stadium known as 'Kangshang'.

Other indigenous games like Mukna Kangjei, Mukna, Yubi Lakpi, Hiyang Tannaba and martial arts like Sarit Sarak, Thang-ta etc. have now become demonstration games occasionally shown at selected functions. Mukna and Thang-ta are two other traditional games selected for demonstration during the 1999, 5th National games at Imphal. The ritualistic competition of Mukna just after the conclusion of Lai Haraoba festival still continues in some parts of the state. Lack of facilities for exposure to national competitions and preference of the youths to the modern games are some of the main causes of the decline of these indigenous games.
A special characteristic of these indigenous games is that it was played not merely for the love of the game but also as part of military combat training patronized by the kings of Manipur through the ages. Most of the polo players of Manipur were trained in the use of 'arambai" (an arrow like deadly shaft conveniently used both in attack and retreat). No wonder, it was mainly the polo players, who formed the bulk of the Manipur Cavalry that devasted northern Burma (Myanmar) during the campaigns of Garbiniwaz, King of Manipur (1709-48).

Football was the first among the modern games introduced by the British in Manipur at the fag end of the nineteenth century. It was at Paltan ground formerly known as Manung Kangjeibung near Kangla fort that the British Indian sepoys started playing this game for the first time in Manipur. Rev. William Pettigrew, the then teacher of the Johnstone School introduced the game to his students in 1899. At the turn of the century a football team of the Johnstone School was formed followed by a second one known as Maharaja team under the patronage of His Highness, Sir Churachand Singh K.C.S.I., C.B.E. the Maharaja of Manipur.


No organized tournaments were conducted prior to the First World War except frequent friendly matches among the Paltan, the Johnstone School team and the Maharaja team. The Paltan Team was composed of some British Officers and Gurkha sepoys. The players of those days played bare footed. However, some of the players of the Paltan team played with their boots on.

In fact Sir Churachand Singh was the founder patron of modern sports movement in Manipur. He freely distributed sports goods to the schools and donated generously all types of sporting activities not only in Manipur but also in Assam. It was at his initiative that hockey, cricket, athletics, badminton, tennis, tennikoit etc. were introduced and popularized in Manipur. In1935 he sent a cricket team to Shillong and played matches against European Clubs there. He was also the founder president of the Assam Olympic Association. He sent a contingent of sports persons from Manipur at the First Olympic Games held at Jorhat in 1940. Manipur was the champion team winning most of the events including hockey. He groomed many promising sports persons under this personal supervision at the nicely maintained playground at his palace compound.

In 1920 Shri Phoni Mukerjee, a Bengali settled in Manipur, along with a few local youths formed the Manipur Town Club. It was under the banner of this club that organized tournaments mainly football and hockey were taken up at Kalimai ground (at present 1st Bn. Manipur Rifles ground). At his initiatives, Manipur participated in the Bidhumukhi Knock-out Football Tournament at Lumding in Assam in 19333 and won it. The entire expenses of the participation in the said tournament were borne by Maharaja Churachand Singh. Nine Cup, Jabar Memorial and Under Five Feet tournaments were some of the football competitions conducted by Manipur Town Club between 1935 to 1941. Manipur Town Club also ran 'Yakairol Hockey Cup' donated by Dr. N. Leiren Singh regularly during the same period.

Olympic movement in Manipur began with the formation of the Manipur Olympic Association in 1947 with Shri RK Madhuryajit Singh and Shri N Binoy Singh as the founder President and Secretary respectively. The Association conducted Olympic games regularly up to 1954. With the amalgamation of the Manipur Olympic Association and the Manipur Sports Association (Estd. 1948) under a new name, All Manipur Sports Association, the later became the sole controlling body of all sporting activities in Manipur. The All Manipur Sports Association (AMSA) under a new name 'Manipur State Games' then continued the annual Olympic game since 1955.


The most memorable achievement of the AMSA was the successful organization of the Sir Churachand Singhji Memorial Gold Centred Shield Football Tournament in 1975 at Imphal Pologround in commemoration of the silver jubilee year of the tournament where big teams from Calcutta took part in the said tournament. The shield was donated by His highness, Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh in 1950 in memory of his late father, Maharaja Churachand Singh. This is the only major tournament of football in Manipur now being organized by the AMSA since 1977.

The great pioneering works of Shri Indramani Singh in the field of body building, weight lifting, gymnastics, boxing etc. from around the year 1950 will ever be remembered by future generations. He also founded the Manipur Man Building Institute in 1953 with the help of other sports promoters - Shri L Manaobi Singh and Shri S Gambhir Singh and organized a sports extravaganza at Imphal in 1955, featuring Mr. And Miss Manipur contest in addition to most of the disciplines of modern Olympic games. A team of well-trained boxers from Calcutta was invited for an exhibition bout with the local boxers during the sports meet. The activities of the institute faded away mainly due to opposition from the AMSA, the then controlling body of sports and games in Manipur.

A great landmark in the history of sports movement in Manipur is the rapid process of decentralization of sports administration breaking away one after another from the nucleus body, AMSA from the late seventies onwards and forming various State level Sports Associations affiliated to its corresponding apex federations at the national level. However, the AMSA still remains as the sole heir to all the assets and properties pertaining to it without its former sports activities.

Manipur Women's Football Association formed in 1976 and affiliated to the Women's Football Federation of India is now under the aegis of the All Manipur Football Association since 1991 as per directive from the FIFA. The strong and sturdy women footballers from Manipur earned a big name by representing 9 of its players at the 13th Bangkok Asiad Women's Football Team of India.

Within a decade of its formation in 1976 the Manipur Hockey association produced two Olympians - Shri P Nilakamal Singh (1984) and Shri Ksh Thoiba Singh (1988) and World cupper Shri L Tiken Singh (1986). In the women's front also Ksh Tinggongleima Chanu and W. Surjalata Devi were the silver medallist at the 13^th Bangkok Asiad Women's Hockey Championship, 1998.

The Manipur Olympic Association was again formed in 1976 and got affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association. Gradually State level sport associations affiliated to it began to swell in numbers. About 40 state level associations both in Olympics and non- Olympics events are now functioning in Manipur for the promotion of its respective disciplines. The Manipur Olympic Association in collaboration with The Government of Manipur organized the 5^th National Games at Imphal in 1999.

Other spectacular achievements of the sports persons of Manipur is their outstanding performances - both in the national and international level - in events like arm wrestling, Sepak Takraw, veteran athletics, trampoline. Tae-kwondo etc. Arjuna awardee from Manipur Miss Kujarani Devi became a household name in India by her consistent performances in weight lifting for more than a decade in international competitions. She is also a recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Award of 1996. Former Mr. India Shri N Maipak Singh participated in the Mr. Universe contest in Paris in 1972 and secured the 8^th position in world ranking. Lastly, who has not heard of Ng. Dingko Singh, the boxing gold medallist in the 13^th edition of the Asian Games held in Bangkok?

Although cricket was played in Manipur along side with other modern games at the turn of the 20^th Century with a very good encouragement from the late Maharaja Churachand Singh as mentioned earlier, the game lacked its popularity and thrust among the youths of Manipur until it was made popular afresh, thanks to the good TV coverage of test/one day international matches on the small screen since the eighties. Now-a-days young cricketers have utilized every available space in their surroundings as cricket grounds. Cricketers from Manipur will now be getting the much-awaited opportunity for exposure to big matches consequent upon the granting of associate membership of Manipur Cricket Association to the Board of Cricket Control in India in 1998.

The role of the Youth Affairs and Sports Department (Y.A.S.) of Manipur in tapping young talented players and grooming them to be fine sports persons at the school level is highly commendable. At the initiative of Shri Th Madhu Sigh, the then Director of the Sports Department, Manipur hosted the All India Schools Games Autumn Meet in 1972 and Winter Meet in 1975. The Y.A.S. Department, Manipur is also giving financial assistance to the state level sports organizations for participation in the national and international level tournaments. This department is also giving incentive sports awards to the national and international achievers every year. Thanks to this department, Manipur School teams are participating regularly in the Subroto Football Cup and Junior Nehru Hockey Tournaments held in Delhi every year.

Sports movement at the collegiate level began with the participation of the colleges of Manipur in the Guwahati University Annual Sports Festival since 1955. Outstanding sports persons from Manipur used to represent Guwahati University at the Inter-Varsity tournaments until the foundation of the Manipur University in 1980. The Director of Education (U), Manipur successfully organized Annual Inter College Sports Festivals from 1988 to 1990 but discontinued since then. The Manipur University Sports Board is now confined to its activities mainly in organizing tournaments in a few selective disciplines with the help of the affiliated colleges of Manipur.

The Sports Authority of India with its North Eastern Zone Head Quarter stationed at Takyel Pat, Imphal is also playing a very significant role in shaping and trimming the talented sports persons by inducting them at the SAI hostel and giving regular training programs under qualified coaches. In fact, many distinguished sports persons who are now either playing or serving in various units elsewhere in India are products of the SAI hostel Imphal.

The role of the sports movement committee under the stewardship of Shri RK Ranendrajit Singh is worth mentioning in the history of sports movement in Manipur. But for his timely protest rally at Imphal and mass social service campaign at the present stadium compound in 1980 for the preservation of the Khuman Lampak Sports complex rather than allotting it for residential and other purposes during the Janata regime, Manipur might not have materialized in conducting the 5^th National Games at such a beautiful sports complex where the venues of as many as 13 disciplines are located at very close proximity within walking distances from one another.

In fine, it may well be concluded that having given the adequate infrastructural facilities for sports, scientific training, good sponsorship and timely exposure to competitive sports, the Manipuris who have inherited such rich sporting heritage will definitely bring laurels to the country more particularly in those games comparable to their body structure.