Eighteen-year-old Ankesh is the only hope for his family and relatives struggling in extreme poverty. Ever since he was selected by a well-known football academy based in Jharkhand three years ago, his fate and story seems to have changed. Born in a family with no steady source of income, getting an education and a dignified job was a dream. Quarrels and fights were a daily routine in the house. Neighbours talked about how the kid was on the verge of losing out to bad company until, one day, he was seen visiting the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal, Manipur’s capital. After many years of not doing anything substantial for a living, his unemployed father began looking after his son’s football training programme, arranging his kits and dropping him at the complex every morning without fail. As Ankesh gradually proved his talent, his family also got engrossed in the game. The teenager’s football career became something all of them looked forward to.
Meet 20 year-old S. Nengneihat Kom, a national level boxing champion from a remote village in Churchandpur district in Manipur, and one of the first students of Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation (MKRBF). Before she took up boxing and joined the academy, Kom was a homeless teenager moving from one relative’s place to another. Her father died when she was just a year old and her mother when she turned 10. While her aunt took up the responsibility of bringing her up, it was short-lived due to poor financial conditions. However, pursuing the game seems to have given her the much-needed sense of hope and purpose. Today, Kom has won numerous awards at various national boxing tournaments.
Two teenagers — Sanjita and M. Kavita, students of the National Sports Academy in Imphal pursuing Taekwondo and Judo respectively — have also overcome similar adversity. Both the girls — who were drawn into the games after watching people in their neighbourhood do well in sports — dream of participating in the Olympic Games someday and improving their living conditions and status in society.
In this tiny hill state perched in the north-eastern corner of the country, sport is more than just a passion. It is increasingly becoming a serious avenue for many young people; a dream career in a State that has long been stripped of opportunities due to years of insurgency and a poor economy. For many youth, striving to come out of poverty and seeking an identity, pursuing a sport is hopefully a way to a secure job, financial stability and a place in society.
Despite the challenges of poverty, lack of proper facilities and claims of human rights violation, this small state, now in the process of setting up a Rs.100 crore state-of-the-art sports university, has been churning out sports personalities of national and international calibre each year. For instance, in the ISL football championship, 14 players from Manipur participated, representing various franchisee teams.
“Sports has become a serious and significant avenue for Manipuri youth to establish a career. It is not only a refuge financially, but people have come to know that it is the best way to earn name and fame as well,” says Jimmy Levlion, Secretary at MKRBF. Set up by Olympic medallist Mary Kom and her husband K. Onler in 2006, the boxing institute based in Imphal currently trains around 100 kids, mostly from poor backgrounds and remote areas.
Over 3,000 young boys and girls from across Manipur visit the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex every day for various training programmes in around 26 disciplines. This 143-acre sports facility, which was built to organise the fifth National Games in 1999, is a birthplace for many national and international players from the state.
Apart from the National Sports Academy (NSA), the complex is also home to Regular Coaching Centre (RCC), an initiative by the Directorate of Youth and Sports Affairs (YAS), Manipur, along with sports enthusiasts and retired players, to guide and train kids for a nominal fee of Rs.100, every six months.
“Sport is a way of life for us. Graduates and postgraduates are without a job in our State. Among players from financially poor backgrounds, there is a strong feeling that getting a medal or participating in an international event might help them fetch a government job to improve their living conditions,” said Waribam Sushilkumar, Honorary Sports Officer, NSA, Imphal. Today, more than 1,000 people from the State are estimated to be playing across the country, and supporting their families financially.
Former hockey player and Manipur’s first Olympian, Nila Kamal points out that though there are numerous challenges, opportunities and incentives for good players have increased. “Times have changed. Direct recruitments are happening for medal winners but luck also plays a huge part in it,” said the retired Air India official, who was part of the Indian hockey team as goal keeper at the 1984 Berlin Olympics.
The culture of sports in the Imphal valley dates back to the late 19 century during the reign of Churachand Maharaj, who invested in many sporting activities. It is now widely accepted that Polo (Sagol Kangjei) as a modern sport originated from Manipur and was introduced to the British during the period. According to Soram Lokeshwar Singh, a retired history professor and author of the book The Annals of Manipur Sports Association , the tradition of giving a hero’s status to sports players in Manipur inspired many a youth to turn to sports in the state. “Apart from getting lucrative jobs, sports players who have done well gain an enviable status in society,” he adds.
Soibam Ekendra, who has worked as head football coach of Sporting Clube de Goa and Sikkim United, feels many young players in Manipur are driven by a deep passion for the game though he agrees that they strive immensely hard to come out of poverty. “They don’t come wanting a job in the Indian Army or the Railways. They want to represent India, be recognised and uplift themselves and their families,” said the former football player.
With no corporate sponsorships or major funds coming from outside the State, many credit the strong club culture in Manipur as the driving force behind keeping sports alive at the grassroots level. Every locality has a system of donation, and the small amount collected is utilised in supporting the players. However, players and organisations live with major infrastructural challenges and are constantly scrambling for funds.
Ekendra laments that, unlike other sporting states like West Bengal or Goa, there is not a single corporate house that sponsors a club or player in the state. “Getting funds is the biggest challenge here. A lot of good players have been brought up with help from these community clubs. They have helped kids get through various academies outside and to pursue their dreams.”
