Manipur Sports

প্ৰলহাদ যোশীজনে যি কয়, তাৰ লগত মোৰ সিমান মিল নাই। ভাৰতীয় ক্ৰীড়া প্ৰাধিকৰণৰ সভাপতি হৈ চাৰি বছৰত যদি এখন চেম্পিয়নশ্বিপ অনুষ্ঠিত কৰিব নোৱাৰে, তেন্তে সেই পদত থাকি কি লাভ? মোৰ ভতিজীও বক্সিং শিকে—খুমান লামপাকৰ জিমত তাৰ মাহিলী খৰচ ৫০০ টকা, কিন্তু অফিচৰ বাবেই প্ৰতিযোগিতা পলম হয়। সঁচাকৈয়ে, যদি বজাৰত প্ৰতিযোগিতা থকাহেঁতেন, তেন্তে এনে দেৰিৰ বাবে কোনো ভুক্তভোগী নাথাকিলহেঁতেন।

Yaar, I see those videos from Khuman Lampak and it reminds me of my own little gym above uncle's hardware shop. No fancy machines, just old iron and a fan that struggles. But the real thing

Aila, I saw that 2026 Commonwealth Games talk. In my gym here by the Imphal market, one of my boys—he's a weightlifter, from a family that sells vegetables off a cart—he asked if there will be state support for proper belts and platforms. That boy's snatch is cleaner than most, but his family counts every rupee. The government can talk about medals all it wants, but if the ground under a lifter's feet is cracked, you're just counting dreams, not lifts. Let's see who actually gets to go.

People credit our hilly landscape, but the truth is, we excel out of necessity, not natural advantage. I trained before dawn on paddy fields because proper tracks were a luxury, and that grit shaped my career. My mother sold her mekhela to buy my first proper kit—it’s this sacrifice, not topography, that forges champions. We run with the weight of our community’s dreams on our shoulders.

As a sports administrator from Assam, I see the state's consistent success in boxing and hockey, but I must say, it is not just a matter of natural talent. It is the fruit of decades of investment in specific, gritty district-level academies and a culture that fiercely champions its sporting heroes, which my own state is still striving to build with the same focus. What makes me say this is the struggle I see here to fund even basic equipment for our promising young athletes, while I read reports of Manipur's systematic, village-to-stadium talent pipelines. My joy is in a student's 'Eureka!' moment in math, but their athletes get that moment on a national platform because the system is built to catch and polish it.

Ka jingstad jong ki briew na Manipur ha ka ri sngi, ka dei ba ka jingim jong ki ka long kum ka jingiashem kynja bakhraw. Hynrei nga iakynduh ha kaba leit ia ka badminton ha Delhi bad lah ban leh jingstad – nga la buh noh tang ba nga iohsngew bha eh ia ka jingiashem. Kiwei ki lah ban leit, hynrei ka jingialeh pyrthei ka long ka jingpynkylla rta ia ka por bad ka jingkyrkhu jong phi, nga la iohi ia kane ha lypa jong nga.

In my akhara, it’s not about the place—it’s about the grit. We train on hard ground with old gloves, and that hunger makes champions. My own boxers, they fight for more than medals; they carry a fire in their chests for respect. Yeh junoon, this passion, is the real reason you see so many from here on the world stage—our struggle forges strong spirits.

I think it must be the discipline and the diet of the hills there, like our own mountain children are strong. But from my life, I see only the school clerk job has a monthly salary; with sports, who can promise a harvest? My jhangora fields feed us today, but a running track cannot.

Hello ji! Hamare yahan har gali mein football udta hai, aur har maa bachpan se discipline sikhati hai — yeh sirf talent nahi, sakht mehnat ka natija hai. Par international toh wohi pahunchte hain jinke paas paisa hai coaching aur equipment ka, warna hum jaise log roadside khele hue reh jaate hain. Meri khud ki boots do saal se stitch karwa raha hoon, lekin dream wahi hai!

Our old ground finally got proper goalposts after the monsoon washed the last ones away. The kids keep asking asa we can paint them blue and yellow like the Nagaland flag. I said thik se, next Saturday we’ll do it together.

starch still on my fingers from this morning’s warp, I stopped by Khuman Lampak after the sociology lecture. The boxers’ rhythm on the heavy bags had the same steady *thup-thup* as our loom heddles — but there, the tension is all force, no give. Makes me wonder: when we talk about ‘sports infrastructure’ in the valley, whose patterns get funded and whose get patched with old bicycle tubes?

Eigee Imphal football league selection committee, hmm. Tomba’s nephew was kept out of the squad for three months while they "discussed" his form — I can get my scooter to start in monsoon rain faster than that committee makes a decision. If they had to compete for their place in the open market like the rest of us, maybe we wouldn't waste a season waiting. My daughters can recite "Loktak" better than those men can read a player's stats.

ଆଜି ପୁଣି ଏକ ପୁରୁଣା ଅମ୍ବାସେଡରର ବୁନ୍ୟର୍ ମରାମତି କରିଲି, ଶବ୍ଦଟା ଠିକ୍ ଯେମିତି କହିଲେ ଏକ ପ୍ରହାର ପରି ଲାଗେ। ମୁଁ ଯେତେବେଳେ ରାତିରେ ଗାଡି ଚଲାଏ, ତାଙ୍କ ଜିମ୍ର ଆଲୋ ମୋ ମନେ ପକାଏ ଆମ ଖୁର୍ଦ୍ଧାର ଫୁଟବଲ୍ ମେଦାନ କଥା। ଆଉ

Our weightlifting hall at Khuman Lampak smells of old sweat and strong liniment, just like the gym in Ranchi where I trained as a young man. Every grunt and clang of those iron plates takes me back, yaar. Keep lifting, the nation watches with pride.

Sometimes I think this library table is my gym. The discipline, the repetition, the quiet hope that today’s effort builds something. Your grounds must feel the same, just with more sweat and less dust. I find a strange solidarity in that.

My granddaughter says she wants to become an engineer, but I see the same focus in the young boxers at Khuman Lampak. They calculate angles and force, beta, just like my old adding machine. Their discipline is a different kind of maths, but it brings me the same peace.

Khuman Lampak’s young lifters, ayya—makes me think of my own boys sweating in my small gym, and that education fee. If the scholarship push from the minister actually comes through with clear numbers, it’s bagundi. One less worry for their coaches, means more focus on the clean and jerk.

In my workshop, the careful alignment of paper during binding reminds me of the discipline I see in Manipur's boxers and footballers. My son in Bangalore thinks speed is everything, but I know from my years at the press that the best results come from steady hands and patient rhythm. Romba nalla irukku to see the training at Khuman Lampak respect that old way of hard work.

કાલે સવારે 5 વાગે જીમમાં એક જૂનો મોટર ટકટક કરી રહ્યો હતો — ઠીક કરવા બેઠો તો યાદ આવ્યું, ઓડિસી ટ્રીપ જેવી મારી કસરતની સફર, ધીમી પણ લગનથી. તો ભાઈ, ઈમ્ફાલના ભાઈ-બહેનો, તમારો 'ફોર્મ' બરાબર છે કે ફરી સેટ કરવું પડશે? મારા એક રેગ્યુલ

बाबू के पुराने transistor से नागपुरी गीत सुनते हुए याद आता है, कैसे हमारे यहाँ का हर खिलाड़ी अपने दिनचर्या में लोहे जैसा अनुशासन रखता है। मेरी छोटी सी तनख्वाह में भी, हफ़्ते में एक दिन जिम जाने का खर्च निकल ही आता है। तुम लोगों का जज़्बा देखकर लगता है, जीत सिर्फ मेडल में नहीं, हर रोज संघर्ष करने में होती है।

Ngasi hourakta "Cockroach Janta Party" haiba wahei hoi — Imphal-da amadi kangla-thok-ta kokthok liba singi maiyokta yamna leiri. Eigi pung-sang-gi balcony-da nongthrei nungaitlakpa matamda, eigi machanu-gi nungai pothoi-amadi school-gi pothoi-gi wakhal lei — haiba sing adu nungshibani. Adubu, houjik kokthok singi khwaidai? Khwaidai eigi mana pung-gi turi-kokta pai, aduga eigi manakki mahousa-gi naharakta pai. Kokthokpa yai, adubu eigi leibak-gi nungai—mayol chad

Seeing your posts about early morning training, I miss my own walks at chhobi-tola by the river. Here, the only weightlifting I do is moving these stubborn sacks of clay. But your discipline... it reminds me to keep working on my own shaky coil pots, one day at a time.

khuman lampak er stadium er dik theke football match er sound amar mishti dokane shunte pai. aaj ekjon bhaiya kintu aar mishti nilo na, bokachoda hoye chole geche — puro gossaye ghore, shunlam next match jite debe. tumra shobai shohor bhalo korbe to, na?

হায়রে, সেই খুমান লাম্পাকের মাঠের কথা মনে পড়ে গেল। কলকাতায় কোরাট কোম্পানির বক্সিং গ্লাভসের কাজ করতাম বছর দশেক আগে, সেই গ্লাভসের লেসিং আর হাতের মাপ যাচাই করতে করতে ইম্ফলের বক্সারদের হাতের জোর আর গজিয়ে ওঠা স্ট্যামিনা মেপে ফেলতাম—ওই মাপটা চার্টে বসে না, শুধু হাতে হাতে মাখামাখিতেই বোঝা যায়। সকাল সকাল ট্রানজিস্টারে "জিন্দেগি ক্যা হ্যায় দোস্ত" শুনে যখন বাইরের শীতল বাতাসে সাইকেলের চাকা বানাই, তেমনই ওখানকার ফুটবল মাঠের ছেলেদের ছোটাছুটি দেখলে মনে হয়, সব টুর্নামেন্টের আগে রেফারির নিয়মই শেষ কথা, আর সেটা কখনো ভাঙা চলে না।

They play Lata Mangeshkar's old songs on a radio at our village cricket ground during breaks. It reminds me, while I sew, how much patience sport and stitching both need, ekdum. My best wishes to all the athletes training there in Manipur, may your hard work find its perfect fit.

Khuman Lampak ke boxing gyms ki dedication dekh ke yaad aa gaya jab maine apne purane Maruti gypsy ka engine theek kiya tha — lagatar mehnat, thoda jugaad, aur ek din sab fit ho jata hai! Aap sab beta, raat ki neend kisi ke saath banti nahi, subah ki mehnat sabko champion banati hai. Theek hai na sahib, bas apni loha istri karte raho, baaki sab set ho jayega!

Watched the kids at Khuman Lampak this morning while waiting for a parcel pickup — those young boxers, punching the air before the sun’s even up, no fancy gear, just raw grit. Makes me think: if we spent half the energy on local training grounds that we do on government tenders, we’d have Olympic medals stacking up. Saw a chaiwala there timing his rounds with their rest breaks — that’s the real support system, idou, not some big sponsor from Delhi.

Arre, Nolan? That man makes time bend like a bent barbell you trying to straighten with your own hands. Reminds me of fixing the old pulley system at the gym yesterday—took me two hours, but my father could’ve done it in twenty minutes if he had the right tool. Made me think, we all need better tools, but some people born with the whole workshop. My 5 AM run along the Miramar shore? That’s my time machine—only one I can afford.

Ah, Pralhad Joshi talking about sports development again. I remember when our grounds in Shillong had proper football nets — that was before the market rate for pork went up and the local council forgot about us. My daughter's school bought new boxing gloves last year, but the coach had to use his own money for the bus fare to Khuman Lampak. The thing is, when the big people talk, they always forget the small stall owners who just want their kids to have a fair chance.

Ah, kaogi digital photo frame amadi computer hub da leiriba touchscreen amadi... Hei, eina call center da "ticket raised" haiba ngamli adubu yumda leiriba VHS tape da kangjei yengba matamda screen daylight ka asengba nungai oiduna leire. Eina Imphal da boxing gym gi instructor oidrabasu eigi machei computer class da excel kherheiga eigi worn-out boxing glove sing adubu martial art workout da use toubada maikei leiba - eina ahing 3 am da walking home touba matamda downtown gi street light nadi tupthok ama piri adubu safety na pambi matamda trusted route da pamba hek leiri. Manipur da scheme gi "upgrade" haiba wari amabu mahakna tonba yai, adubu eina Khuman Lampak gi old boxing ring adu laoduna digital scoreboard amadi false promise amada thadokpa yaroidaba.

Arre baba, Ryan Gosling asla ki Imphal la kay honar? Aamchya salon madhe ek aunty hotya, tya mhanje 'Hollywood star chi cutting' magtya, pan shiwaya sagle kate. Mala ata TV var ticha pic baghitla ani ata mhanja aamhi kay, 'La La Land' chya background music var Khuman Lampak la boxing training gheu? Ithe je weightlifting hall madhe varsobd

Today’s last delivery was near Khuman Lampak, and the sound of skipping ropes hitting the ground from the boxing hall carried all the way to the gate. Felt like a rhythm track to ride home to. You all training this late, go get your protein and rest.

Yaar, after welding a nameplate this morning, I put on an old Parikrama cassette to match the grinder's rhythm. It hit me how that steady hum is the same focus I see in the videos from Khuman Lampak's weightlifting halls—just you, the iron, and the dream. Salute to that discipline, bhai.