Out of the four gold medals won by India in the 4th World Women Boxing Championships held at the Talkatora stadium at New Delhi three were bagged by boxers from the North East region.

The icing on the cake is of course the fact that Mary Kom is the first woman boxer to win the world crown three times in a row, while Sarita has confirmed that her earlier showings were no flash in the pan.

Jenny LC is a relative new comer to the game of boxing but she is today a name to reckon with in the world of women boxing.

So out of the four gold medals that India won, three were bagged by boxers from the North East States, a region which lies beyond the chicken neck and is in the consciousness of Delhi as a region riven with strife and separatist movements.

Mizoram from where Jenny LC hails has seen peace for the last couple of decades thanks to the Mizo Accord signed between the then supremo of the Mizo National Front, late Laldenga and former Prime Minister late Mr Rajiv Gandhi in the mid 80s. Manipur which is the home of Mary Kom and Sarita Devi is presently undergoing a trial by fire with different forces pulling apart the social and political fabric of the State and with many threatening its very existence as a political and social entity.

It is against this background that the success of Sarita and Mary Kom has come and when viewed along this line, their achievements become all that more significant.

At least there is something to smile about amid the clash of interest over the Meitei Mayek at Churachandpur district, the ongoing economic blockade called by the All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur and the just concluded 36 hours and 48 hours general strikes, not to mention the simmering tension over the proposal to construct the Tipaimukh dam.

For the fortunate few who had the opportunity to catch the final matches live on TV here in Imphal, (majority of the people must have missed out the live telecast as there was no power supply), there was something overwhelming when the petite Mary Kom stepped into the ring.

The same sentiments must have surged through others when Sarita also made her appearance and while each point that these two young ladies scored was greeted with applause and cheers, it also came with the sense of belief and conviction, “Yes as a people there is so much we can.” Wordsmiths we are, but there are certain sentiments and feelings that are hard to put to ink and it was the same when Mary Kom and Sarita were declared world champions at far away New Delhi.

In many ways Manipur is today a paradox. While the place continues to make news for all the wrong reasons, there are outstanding performances dished out by individuals who bring a smile on our faces.

Every single day is a day about killings, bandh, stand offs, clash of interest between two groups of people or associations or organisations, verbal duel which have the potential to snow ball into major issues which can rock the very foundation of the State etc.

Mary Kom and Sarita are deservedly world champions and beaters and we salute them not only for winning the world championship titles but for putting a smile on our faces and litting up the dark world, literally and figuratively speaking, even if it is only for a few hours.

Thanks, Mary. Thanks, Sarita.