Naorem James seals 500 m kayak gold at 1st Bishnupur Olympic Games 2026
Source: The Sangai Express / DIO

Imphal/Bishnupur, July 10 2026: Naorem James claimed the 500 m men's individual kayak gold at the 1st Bishnupur Olympic Games being hosted by Bishnupur District Olympic Association and District Administration in collaboration with different associations and stakeholders.

The Canoeing, Kayaking and Rowing competitions were held today at the Takmu Water Sports Complex, showcasing the talent and determination of young athletes from across the district.

Naorem James seals 500 m kayak gold at 1st Bishnupur Olympic Games 2026

James picked the gold medal with the best time of 1 minute 59.64 seconds as P Lanchenba (2:06.82) and Kh Santosh (2:5.54) settled for the second and the third places.

In the 500 m K2 (double) event, Pukhrambam Lanchenba and Yumnam Lanchangba bagged the gold taking 1:52.45 as the pair of Ningthoujam Itonsana and Yaiphaba Pukhrambam won the silver taking 2: 00.79 and the pair of Pukhrambam Hemba and Khwairakpam Lanchangba bagged the bronze medal taking 2:11.96 .

In the K4 (four-man) 500 m event, Khwairakpam Jupiter, Yumnam Lanchangba, Pukhrambam Lanchenba and Santosh Khwairakpam sealed the gold by completing the course in 1 minute 43.33 seconds (1:43.33) .

P Yaiphaba, P Abinash, N Itonsana and S Gururaj (1:53.04) were second in the competition as P Arson, P Hemba, Kh Bidyasagar, and Kh Lanchangba (2:10.90) finished third.

Kumam Rabina was the fastest in the women's individual 500 m kayak event.

She clocked 2 minutes 29.25 seconds (2:25.29) to win the gold as Monalisa (3:00.47) and P Devjani (3:27.25) settled for the silver and the bronze medals.

In the K2 event, K Rabina and L Rojina combined well to finish the course in 2:28.67 and claimed the gold medal as Th Romila and L Monalisa (2:32.40) settled for the silver medal.

Canoeing

Haobijam Sayonba earned the individual men's 500 m (C1) canoe event at the games posting the best time of 2:12.85.He was followed by N Nowboy (2:16.51) and Manisana (2:21.14) .

In the 500 m C2 event for men, Sayonba and W Demson registered the best time of 2:03.03 to seal the gold medal as M Hari and M Zeptha (2:10.89) bagged the silver.

The 500 m C4 event gold also went to H Sayonba who combined with W Demson, H Tiken and H Amarjit to complete the course in 2:01.60 .

P Thomas, Ph Famous, M Lanchenba and M Ronaldo bagged the silver medal taking 2:31.25 as M Hari, A Manisana, N Nowboy and M Zeptha sealed the bronze medal taking 2:33.15 .

In the women's individual 500 m canoe event (C1), Chelsi Khundrakpam sprinted her way to the gold in 2:32:53 as Maibam Melody (2:33.80) and Oinam Bidyaluxmi (2:46:68) finished third to pick the silver and the bronze medal respectively.

In the doubles (C2) event, Chelsi and Silka claimed the gold medal by completing the course in 2:49.20 as M Melody and Selina took 2:57:14 to win the silver and Soibam Anjali and O Bidyaluxmi posted 3:01.20 to settle for the bronze medal.

Rowing

Babilika Oinam emerged as the women's single scull champion as she completed the 500 m course in 2:11.87 (2 minutes 11.87 seconds).

Kh Bidyaluxmi (2:14.15) and L Pritty (2:16.61) were second and third in the competition.

In the double scull event, Heisnam Swevia and Leitanthem Roshibina clinched the gold taking 2:03.88 to complete the 500 m course.

The pairs of L Pritty and M Ashapyari (2:05.73) and O Babilika and P Sandhya (2:08.30) finished second and third to seal the silver and the bronze medal respectively.

Swevia and Roshibina also registered the 500 m coxless pair event gold.

Th Nganthoi and O Manileima (2:27.55) and Ph Roni and M Neha (2:28.48) were second and third in this event.

In the women's coxless four, Swevia, Kh Bidyaluxmi, K Tonthoi and L Roshibina sealed the gold medal taking 2:05.22 .

O Manileima, O Babilika, P Sandhya and Th Nganthoi took 2: 08.63 to win the silver medal in this event as Ph Roni, M Ashapyari, L Pritty and M Neha took 2:10.71 to settle for the bronze medal.

Men's 500 m double scull gold medal, meanwhile, went to H Victor and T Ranbir who clocked the best time of 1:48.70.They were followed by K Thomas and L Raj (2:00.09) and K Wanglen and N Barlin (2:02.99) in second and third places.

In the 500 m coxless pair event, Ningthoujam Suresh and N Manglemthoi took 1:57.75 to win the gold as Ph Nikhil and H Tomthinnganba took 2:00.34 to settle for the silver medal.

Ningthoujam Suresh, N Manglemthoi, Tongbram Ranbir and Heisnam Victor meanwhile claimed the coxless four event gold by posting 1:42.68 as Ph Nikhil, L Raj, K Thomas and H Tomthin took 2:03.58 to win the silver medal.

Deputy Commissioner Pooja Elangbam attended the competition as chief guest who also led in distributing prizes to the medallists.

She encouraged local youth to leverage the natural environment of Loktak Lake to pursue professional sports careers.

She highlighted the district's natural advantage saying that "Bishnupur possesses immense potential in water sports...

our district is naturally gifted with an ideal environment for disciplines such as canoeing, kayaking, and rowing" .

Regarding youth development, Pooja added: "I encourage our youth to take sports seriously.

Sports not only promote physical fitness and discipline but also help shape a brighter future" .

On the importance of the competition, she stated: "District-level sporting events...play a vital role in identifying talented sportspersons at the grassroots level.

This framework is essential for nurturing them to compete on larger State, National, and international platforms" .

Football

Oinam AC finished Group B winners following a 2-2 draw with Moirang AC in the final group league match today at Mini Stadium, Bishnupur.

Having played out a 3-3 draw, Oinam AC emerged on top of the table to qualify for the final.

Earlier in the day, Bishnupur AC, who posted a 4-0 win over Nambol AC, went on top of Group A temporarily as they played out a goalless draw with Thang AC .