BackManipuri stars add to India’s medal tally at Commonwealth Games
Of the nine medals that have come India's way, four were won by sports stars from Manipur
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Glasgow: Tucked away in a far corner of the north-east, Manipur is among the smallest states in India, with a population of 2.7 million and a land area of 22,327 sq.km.
Yet, as medals trickle into the Indian kitty at the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the contribution of Manipuri stars is burnishing the reputation of the state as a sporting power.
Of the nine medals that have come India’s way, four were won by sports stars from Manipur—one gold, two silvers and one bronze.
The past two decades have seen a steady rise in Manipur’s contribution to Indian sport—from individual ones like women’s weightlifting (Kunjarani Devi), boxing (Dingko Singh among men and Mary Kom among women), archery (Bombayla Devi Laishram) and judo (Sushila Likmabam in Glasgow this week) to team events like football (Renedy Singh), men’s hockey (Thoiba Singh) and women’s hockey (Tingoleima Chanu).
Cycling has seen the emergence of Manorama Devi, who won a rare medal for India in the sport at the Asian championships last year.
The diminutive and soft-spoken Kunjarani Devi, 46, is one of a kind. Despite being just a little more than four feet, eight inches in height, she stands tall among Indian sportspersons as a flag-bearer, not only for her sport, but for the entire north-east, Manipur in particular.
Kunjarani says she can’t remember the number of medals she has won in her sporting career.
“I have even forgotten so many competitions where I won. I was lucky to be the first to do well from Manipur. Now we have lot of youngsters coming up," she said on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Games, where she is the coach of the women’s team.
Kunjarani has taken part in seven successive World Championships, winning medals in all but one of them. She won a bronze at both the 1990 and 1994 Asian Games, but failed to get to the podium in 1998.
She did top the 48kg category at the Commonwealth Games in both 2002 and 2006, but never won a World Championship or Asian Games gold.
“We now have a lot of women, in Manipur and India, taking part in weightlifting, which was not popular before. That I feel is my big contribution and I am proud of it," Kunjarani said.
As her wards Sanjita Khumukcham and Mirabai Saikhom won a gold and a silver respectively in the 48kg category in Glasgow, she felt “a lot of memories coming back".
“I had won the gold in Commonwealth Games when women’s weightlifting was introduced in 2002 and we had three medals then, snatch, clean and jerk and overall and I won all three," she said. “Last time in 2010, by which time I retired, we lost the gold, but now Sanjita has brought back gold. There is much more talent coming up and these two girls are only 20 and 19."
So what is it that makes Manipuri women so strong and medal winners?
“Manipuri women are used to hardships, we work very hard at home and even outside," Kunjarani Devi said. “We are dedicated and our goal is to improve our families. Our society gives women a lot of importance and respect. Maybe 20-25 years ago, Manipuri women playing sport may have been rare but it is no longer so."
She may have been the first, but there were more coming down the line. “In the next 10-15 years we had boxer Dingko Singh, who made boxing so popular. In 1998 when he won (gold at the Asian Games) he became a big hero. Every boy wanted to be like Dingko. He had been dropped from team and picked at last minute and he won gold. It was an inspiration for everyone in Manipur," she explained.
What about other sports in which Manipur has had its share of triumphs?
“Yes of course, Manipuris have always been good at sports which require speed and strength. If weightlifting requires strength and a strong mind, team sports like football and hockey require speed. That speed also helps in martial arts like judo and karate. We also had good archers," Kunjarani Devi said.
Manipur’s star footballers have included the likes of Renedy Singh, Sur Kumar Singh and Gouramangi Singh, while Thoiba Singh and Tingoleima Chanu played for India in hockey. Bombayla Devi has been part of the Indian archery team.
While Kunjarani is coaching the national women’s weightlifting team, Mary Kom, who hasn’t yet retired from her sport, too has been planning and working towards boxing schools for women. For most Manipuris, sport is a way of breaking out of insecurity in life.
“There is lack of industries and factories and services in Manipur, so people go elsewhere for jobs," Kunjarani says. “But if you work hard in sports and do well, you can also be with families. Sportspersons work hard and spend months and months away from home, but if we do well it brings rewards for the whole family and community."
She pauses and adds, “One international medal, even a bronze or a national title can get you a job in a good company and then there are cash prizes from government, state and employers. That helps the whole family in many ways, including education."
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