Congratulations, Manipur !

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu from Manipur (Northeast India) who won Gold Medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship held in the USA.

"And congratulations Manipur for giving the country a wonderful series of champion sports-persons"   The President of India's office tweeted praising Mirabai Chanu of Manipur for winning the Gold Medal at the World Weightlifting Championship in the US.(source: Times of India dated December 1, 2017 )   This is the most appropriate expression giving due credit to the small beautiful north-eastern state of Manipur.  By the above statement, the President has acknowledged and honoured the entire population of Manipur for giving India "series of champion" sports persons.   Indeed it is indisputable fact that Manipur is the most powerful State in terms of sports barring cricket which is just a money-spinning entertainment game virtually played 24 X 365 nowadays under the cloud of match-fixing, spot-fixing, gambling and so on.

If this is the hard truth, then question arises, why there is no international standard stadium in Manipur ?   Result-wise, why sports ministry in the country do not invest half of the sports budget in Manipur which has made India proud by producing so many world champions ?

Rest of India like it or not, Manipur in the sporting arena in the country is like China in the Asian Games and Olympics _ you find it either at top and among the top 2 or 3 in medal tally, always.  In every Olympics, India sends a contingent of athletes like the size that of China's, but ends up almost at the bottom level in medal tally.  Thus we have become a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.   India should invest half its sports budget in Manipur if it wants to improve on its medal tally at world events like Olympics.

Amid much fanfare, I remember a cricket icon very recently gifted a BMW to a lesser-known gymnast from Tripura who FAILED  to win a medal (let alone Gold medal) for India in the last Olympics. She had finished a poor 4th in that event.   Now what will this cricket icon do for a gold medalist champion athlete at world stage this Mirabai Chanu ?  Probably nothing !  We all know why.   This is India !  Incredible India, indeed !And what about Marry Kom ?  The list is long... These people are all running after fame and glamour and publicity. They selectively praise and reward people where in return they can get better publicity.  

Manipuri sports-persons want only glory for their state and the country.  Well, people of Manipur (literally meaning land of jewels ) should take solace at least from the encouraging statement of the President Ram Nath Kovind praising them for bringing glory to the country so often.  That's true reward, much greater than a toy called  BMW.  Once again, congratulations Manipur.

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Below are some other world-beaters from Manipur...

Arambam Bobby Singh of Manipur who won the Mister World title in 

2010 in bodybuilding championship.

Mary Kom of Manipur.  World Boxing Champion a number of times.

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