Imphal: In a state long scarred by ethnic tensions and prolonged unrest, a quiet movement of healing is taking shape—not in political forums or public protests, but on football grounds, in boxing rings and inside training halls across Manipur.
Across the state, young athletes from diverse communities are choosing sports over division.
On fields and tracks, boundaries dissolve as Meetei, Kuki, Naga, Meitei Pangal (Muslim), Tangkhul, Rongmei and other groups train side by side, driven by a shared dream of representing Manipur and India.
While social divisions may persist beyond the ground, within sporting spaces there are no lines of separation—only teamwork, discipline and ambition.
Coaches and sportspersons say sports have emerged as one of the rare spaces where trust can still be rebuilt.
Even during periods of intense unrest, local tournaments quietly continued in parts of the state, offering young people a sense of purpose when fear and uncertainty dominated daily life.
For many, training became therapy—turning anger into endurance, anxiety into focus, and frustration into resilience.
As conditions gradually stabilise, youth participation in sports is rising sharply. Grounds that once stood silent are filling again with activity and energy.
Coaches say young people are no longer seeing sports only as recreation, but as a serious career path and a means to a disciplined, structured life.
A powerful symbol of this spirit stands in Mayang Imphal at the Sarita Boxing Academy, founded by Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Laishram Sarita Devi.
The academy is home to around 103 students from different communities across the hills and valleys, who live, train and grow together—sharing dormitories, meals and dreams.
“In sports, there is no difference of caste, religion, community or colour. I train all my students equally. We don’t need to see such things in sports. We are working hard to make our country proud,” Sarita Devi says.
She recalls that before the outbreak of violence, Kuki students were also part of the academy, training alongside others without distinction—an everyday harmony many now hope to restore.
“Earlier, before this violence, Kuki students were also here. We never saw any difference among the children,” she said.
The academy has recently expanded beyond boxing.
An artificial football turf has been opened, and around 20 young footballers now train regularly, with plans to develop natural grounds and introduce more sporting disciplines in the future.
Chongtham Thoiba, a footballer and the academy’s secretary, believes sports can succeed where other efforts often fail.
“In other fields, there may be differences. But in sports, there are none. Sports have the power to bring people together. We are trying to unite communities through this academy and help these children achieve their dreams,” he said.
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Many of the young footballers initially joined the academy to learn boxing, but their natural talent led to the formal launch of the football programme—reflecting the academy’s broader mission to nurture both talent and unity.
Students speak not just of training routines, but of friendships that cut across community lines, built on discipline, shared struggle and mutual respect.
Sarita Devi also carries a clear message for Manipur’s youth: stay away from drugs and destructive paths, and choose sports as a way forward.
“Don’t waste your time. Get involved in sports. Sports can give you a good career and a disciplined life,” she said.
The Sarita Boxing Academy is only one chapter in a wider story unfolding across Manipur. From small local tournaments to training centres and playgrounds, sports spaces are quietly becoming zones of healing.
In a region working to rebuild trust, sports is doing what it has always done best—turning individuals into teams, strangers into teammates, and division into shared purpose—showing that unity, when built through effort and discipline, can be stronger than conflict.
As Report
Mentioned in The Tribune
