Top trainers, sports facilities need of the hour
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: August 07, 2021 -

RATHER than luring sportspersons, who have been excelling in their respective disciplines and donning colours of other states or institutions, back to the state by offering them suitable jobs or lucrative incentives, it is desirable that the government continue to extend all necessary assistance for encouraging them to perform better and achieve higher goals.

As almost all the players of Manipur who have brought or are bringing laurels to the state belong to poor families, it is but natural that the champions will not only have the yearning for a better life but also deserve to be rewarded handsomely as their performance at the top level of any competition would be the driving force to keep alive the sports movement in Manipur.

Similar to Jamaica and Kenya consistently producing champion athletes in-spite of these countries ranking low in the global developmental index, in India's context Manipuri sportspersons too have been successful in showcasing that economic disparities do not matter much if one sets a goal and is ready to toil for achieving the same.

It is through their indomitable spirit that the sportspersons have enriched Manipur's status in diverse sports disciplines and continue to contribute towards the sports movement of India though the country still lags far behind when it comes to competing and coming out triumphant at international competitions where the world's top sportspersons take part.

For instance, five players from Manipur representing the country at the Tokyo Olympics and all except judoka L Sushila either making podium finishes or missing the medal by a whisker underscore abundance of talented sportspersons in the state.

Notwithstanding the tradition of the government to chip in with financial or material assistances only when they bring laurels to the state and country, Manipuri Olympians are testimony that with provision of basic requirements such as right training and direction they could take on the best in the world.

However, the government's policy of assuring job to every Olympic medal winner might play spoilsport to the prospect of state's talented sportspersons from scaling higher as working in the state would curtail their chances of training with the best coaches available in the country and periodically testing with the strongest competitors Or teams.

No doubt, Manipur has a large pool of talented sportspersons but the fact that many of them opt to play for other states and institutions ring out the message that once they reach the stage of competing at the international level then training facilities and coaching regimes in the state is not compatible.

That Manipuri sportspersons have been reaping the benefits of working and training outside the state could be comprehended from both Tokyo Olympics medal winners Mirabai Chanu and Nilakanta Sharma employed in the Indian Railways, which has been the overall champions for the past many editions of the National Games, compared to only once by Manipur when it hosted the Games over two decades back.

It is due to the robust sports policy and better training opportunities in the Railways that it is topping the medal chart at the National Games.

Thus, the government of Manipur should explore the option of reserving suitable jobs for the champions till their retirement from active competition and instead provide them necessary financial and material support for availing the best trainers and facilities to bring more laurels.