Arjuna awards give a soothing balm to the strife torn state
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: August 31 2011 -

W Sandhyarani - Arjuna Award winners 2011 :: Pix - Photo Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India

M Suranjoy and W Sandhyarani are recepients of the prestigious Arjuna Award, 2011. The award is given to sportspersons who have excelled in their disciplines, and have brought pride and honour for the country.

Except for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award which is given to sportspersons who have succeeded exceptionally well, the Arjuna Award is the highest form of honour the Government of India bestows on its sportspersons.

In the last decade or so Manipur has emerged as a sports power house in India and consequently we have more than a hand full of Arjuna Award winners. This might lull some people to consider that for Manipuris winning the award may after all be not too difficult. Nothing could be further from the truth and the sportspersons will be the first to vouch for that.

In such a huge country like India, the competition for laurels and titles is fierce. Nothing comes easy. Only the very best succeed.

Given this scenario the achievements of Suranjoy and Sandhyarani deserves the highest acclaim. More importantly they have brought back that priceless gift called pride to their families and to the state.

M Suranjoy - Arjuna Award winners 2011 :: Pix - Photo Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India

Suranjoy and Sandhyarani are among many who can be trained and developed into world class sportspersons.

In the case of Suranjoy, he enjoys a slight advantage because he belongs to the Services. Training facilities, coaches and a proper diet, though it may not be world class, are far superior than what is provided in most states.

And the Services has been developing boxing as a thrust area. Sandhyarani's case is less fortunate. Her discipline is Wushu and it is practically a new discipline in Indian sports.

Her main worry will be the lack of a good coach. This editorial has repeatedly, upto the point of becoming boring, been highlighting the need for world class infrastructure and world class coaches.

The fact that Manipur does well in sports in Asia and that it has stamped its authority in Indian sports has led to the concerned authority to lie low.

This of course could easily be a complacency driven by the reasoning, let our sportspersons work out their problems on their own. Or it could be plain ineptitude, wanting to help but not knowing how to help.

If Manipur is to succeed at the highest level of competitive sports in the world, it is a forgone conclusion we need world class infrastructure and world class coaches.

We also definitely need a sports university, this university will have been earned by our sports stars and their emphatic successes.

True a sports academy has been set up, and it is a welcome step, but it is aiming for too little and not commensurate with the ambitions of our sportstars who aim to be the best in the world.

If you are still not aware of the situation, please wake up, because Sandhyarani has expressed her desire to train in China under Chinese coaches. Let her statement at least make you realize how inadequate a sports academy could be and how much your lethargy could cost us.

Actually many people wonder how could the concerned authorities be so smug and complacent.

After all most of our renowned footballers are either products of the Tata Football Academy or are self made, who because of their prowess have propelled themselves to the rich clubs of the country.

Many other sportspersons are employed outside the state where their employees provide them the necessary infrastructure and coaches. The authorities here have little to show as fruits of their actions.

Yet the authority remains stubbornly mute. Of the stuff they are made of? Don't bother asking, they still have not paid the prize money earned by our stars in the Jharkhand National Games.

This much for their interest in our sportspersons.