Guwahati: While the ethnic cauldron is still boiling in Manipur, two boys from the state, a Meitei and a Kuki, made India proud after they scored two outstanding goals to lift the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-16 Championship 2023 trophy.
Of the total 23 players of the Indian squad, 16 are from strife-torn Manipur and among them, 11 are Meiteis, four Kukis and a Meitei Pangal (Manipuri Muslim). They categorically prayed for peace to return to the state.
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Hailing from Nambol in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, Bharat Lairenjam netted the first goal in the 8th minute, while Levis Zangminlun, a resident of Churachandpur district, fired the second goal in the 74th minute in the final match played against Bangladesh at Bhutan’s Thimphu on Sunday (September 10).
Setting aside the pangs, sorrows, wailing voices and cries of the victims that have reverberated all corners of the valley and hills of their home state Manipur, these young players played, chatted and ate together and focused only on winning the championship trophy.
An elated Bharat Lairenjam said that he was so happy to score the goal since it was his “goal of the championship.”
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“Though players belong to different communities in the team, we mingle together happily in good team spirit. My teammate, midfielder Levis, told me before the match that I should score to win the match and his second goal was a crucial one for India to grab the championship title. I rushed towards him and gave him a tight hug to celebrate the goal,” Lairenjam said on Monday.
On the current crisis besieging Manipur, Lairenjam said he would like to see the state returning to normalcy like the good old days. The Indian striker dreams to continue playing for the country at the senior level as well by further polishing his skills.
Teammate Levis stated he felt nervous when he stepped out on the field for the final match.
“However, my confidence came to reality as I scored the second and last crucial goal,” said Levis.
Commenting on the ongoing conflict in Manipur and his teammates belonging to different communities of the state, Levis asserted that “football served as their common passion, uniting and allowing them to set aside their differences.”
Levis’s remarkable journey and his heartfelt appeal for peace serve as a testament to the power of sports in transcending boundaries and promoting unity, even in the most challenging of circumstances.
Abbas Shingjamayum, the Meitei Pangal player from Manipur, who bagged the most valuable player and top scorer (with three goals) trophies in the championship quipped, “We did not even talk an iota about the ongoing conflict in Manipur and instead focused on football and team spirit.”
Lauding the glory of the Indian team, All Manipur Football Association (AMFA), General Secretary, Lairikyengbam Jyotirmoy Roy, said, “In games, there is no boundary of ethnicity as manifested by the Indian squad of the SAFF U-16 championship.”