Manipuri players shine at Glasgow CWG

Players from the northeast have yet again brought laurels for the country. At the ongoing 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, four women from Manipur have bagged medals in weightlifting and judo events.

While K Sanjita Chanu and S Mirabai Chanu bagged gold and silver respectively in 48 kg weightlifting, Sushila Likambam won silver in 48 kg Judo and Kalpana Thoudam won bronze in 52 kg Judo event.

Back home in Manipur, the family of gold medalist K Sanjeeta Chanu is happy for her success.

A resident of Umathel Awang Leikai under Thoubal District, 20 year old Sanjeeta has been taking training in Weightlifting at the Sports Authority of India since she was is class 10.

" In order to support her, I had given whatever money I had. All the gold that my parents had given me, I had to sell it. It was very hard for us and we suffered a lot. But at last after seeing her success, I am very happy and at the same time I also feel like crying," said K Takon Leima, mother of Sanjeeta Chanu.

"I am very happy seeing her winning the medal. I watched the games on TV the whole night and when I saw her with the medal, I felt really happy," said Ranjan Singh, Sanjeeta Chanu's coach.

Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh has announced cash awards for the four medalists from the state.

The Northeast region is an acknowledged powerhouse of sports. The government is now giving emphasis on developing sports infrastructure and providing greater encouragement to the budding players in the region.

"Manipur is always doing well. Particularly, in the entire northeast, they have been always in the forefront in receiving medals at different levels of competitions. So our honorable PM has taken a strong stand by making a provision to create a sporting environment in the region," said Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbananda Sonowal.

This year's budget has also laid special focus on developing sports in the region by allocating Rs.100 crores for a sports university in Manipur.

Recently, a public discussion on the concept of Sports University was held in Imphal and was attended by several sport personalities and academicians.

"I am very happy with this decision. All the players from Manipur who are from BPL families as well as the coaches are very happy as Manipur didn't have such facilities before. Following the coming of the BJP government, now that Rs. 100 crores have been sanctioned for the sports university, I hope that our players will now get more medals at international games like Asian games, Commonwealth and Olympics in the future," said L Ibomcha Singh, Dronacharjya Awardee, boxing coach.

Players from the northeast region have time and again shown their mettle at the international level, especially in sports like weightlifting, boxing, Judo and football.