Wushu a Ticket Out of Strife-Torn Northeast India States

By Siddharth Saxena & Sarojkumar Sharma

New Delhi/Imphal, Nov 21 : Tired of constantly being picked on by older boys for his stammer, Bimoljit Singh decided enough was enough and tried out ways of defending himself. At Kakching Khullel , a hamlet in Manipur's Thoubal district, a wushu champion was born out of strife.

At the Asian Games now on in China , Bimoljit surprised with a bronze and Sandhyadevi Rani, his woman colleague from Manipur, picked up silver.

Bimoljit's life mirrors the story of sport in states marred by insurgency and where suspicion of the government is the norm. Take the case of 34-year-old Kuldeep Handoo, who is among India's national wushu coaches. Handoo is a 'veteran' from Jammu and Kashmir. A former 11-time national champ, he trained with comrades who later took up arms against the country.
Handoo can well understand the predicament of Bimoljit, a 27-year-old with Bruce Lee looks. The strapping medal winner comes from a state where Guang-zhou-type exploits brighten up local newspapers otherwise packed with stories of bandhs, blockades and the odd encounter.
"Having to shell out Rs 25 lakh to become a sub-inspector in Manipur Police is normal," says fellow coach M Sachidananda. "But nobody asks you for a bribe if you come through sports. Sports helps heal in Manipur," he adds, explaining how the state police has played an important role in recruiting local sportsmen. Likewise, most of the wushu players are employed with the CRPF.

But for every Bimol or Sandhyadevi, there is a Handoo, who continues to be a wushu lone ranger in his trouble state. That's a lot of talent wasted. "These guys from districts such as Sopore and Kupwara are so powerfully built," Handoo exclaims. They could have easily matched the Iranian champs at Guangzhou blow for blow in a sport that thrives on power and speed.

Wushu, like several other sports, has paid the price for militancy in J&K. "I know of at least three promising players who turned to militancy. One of them had even represented J&K at the 1996 Nationals in Hyderabad. I don't know how I survived. Now, these guys are back after serving jail terms, but do they realize what they could have gained?"

Militancy has hit sport hard in Jammu and Kashmir, so much so that the Sports Authority of India ( SAI) hardly has a presence in the troubled state.

Manipur is a study in contrast. Though disturbed, it probably is SAI's biggest success story. The wushu medal winners add to a glittering list of Manipuri champs making the insurgency-hit state the nation's sports powerhouse.

The Thoubal region is Manipur's home of warrior sports. Seven of the 10 Indians who contested at Guangzhou were from Manipur. Of them, four were Thoubal residents besides coach M Sachidananda and technical official M Birmani Singh.

The reasons are socio-cultural. The North-east region has shown an natural affinity for martial art. Sandhyarani boxed with five-time world champion MC Marykom, and even won gold at the Punjab National Games in the early 2000s. Eventually, she chose wushu as has sport because "it was more all-round."

"Since certain characteristics of Thang-Ta, a Manipuri martial and Mukna, a native sport are incorporated with wushu, players from the state find it easy to adapt to it," explains Sushilkumar Singh, secretary of the Manipur Wushu Association in Imphal. Wushu is a contact sport that involves some features of taekwondo, wrestling and boxing.

Even as he spoke, 30 wushu hopefuls departed from nearby Kaching to faraway Chennai for the sub-junior nationals starting next week. Some of them would turn out for neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh. No one seems to mind, as long as the supply line was busy and running.