Manipur, famously known as a power house of sports, has carved out a niche for itself in the sports world, thanks to its players’ unwavering devotion and dedication. The success of Manipur’s sports stars wouldn’t be possible without the sacrifices of coaches, families, and sports supporters who work extremely hard behind the scenes, and we must not forget them. Among those, we must remember the role of notable individuals like Thounaojam Chaoba Singh, Padma Shri Awardee 2023 and former Union Minister of State, who have contributed significantly to promoting sports and nurturing talents in the state.
Thounaojam Chaoba Singh was born on 10 May 1937 at Utlou. He was afflicted with the disease of Polio at the age of 6. He was not in a position to walk properly. At that time, his mother addressed his son with tears, asking him to walk at least once. He was shocked to hear his mother’s words, which were from her inner heart. He finally determined to face the disease. Surprisingly, he would suddenly get up to walk with God’s help; indeed, he could somehow stand and walk. His mother embraced him with tears to see the situation, giving him the boon to walk. His family was so poor that his mother was going to market in the evening, and he was waiting to receive her with a Podon (local made kerosene oil open-flame lamp) in his hand. His mother was selling fish at the Nambol market. After returning home, his mother cooked food with the rice she had purchased from the market. He said that he still vividly remembered the condition of their family. He got up early in the morning and went to the field on the back of a buffalo to plough the paddy field.
Despite all constraints, he was very interested in playing with his fellows, and he used to play in the evening at the local ground, Sannabung. He categorically stated that he played indigenous games, like waru kangjei, Lamjel, mukna, nung hunnabi (throwing the stone), etc. Even though his family was poor, he used to participate in games as a habitual phenomenon among the youth. At the time, his favourite game was Mukna. He learnt the secret techniques of Mukna from Oja Pabung of Phoijing. The Mukna competition at the Laiharoba festival was among the most critical and popular games. He was keen to participate in the Mukna competitions. He was so eager to play Mukna that he searched for Laiharaoba, where the Mukna competition was held. His main food was Kobi, Hungam, Yengdem and other available vegetables. It is interesting to mention that he also peeled a coconut without the help of any tools. While he was a student at DM College, Imphal, he also started going to the gym to prepare for bodybuilding competitions and became a bodybuilder. It is worth mentioning that he regularly came from Utlou to Imphal and back on foot, which is about 17 km.
He was socially associated with the area’s people in many social activities. Later on, his name was proposed to enter politics and contest the election with the support of the people at the Nambol Assembly Constituency. In 1972, he was elected from the Nambol Assembly constituency in the general assembly election. He served as Parliamentary secretary, Deputy Speaker, Minister of State, Cabinet Minister, and Deputy Chief Minister in 1994. While he was Minister in Manipur, he had the opportunity to visit several sports infrastructures in the country where players were practising different sports disciplines. He was attracted to see the role of the Sports Authority of India in providing sports facilities, including coaching and training programmes in the proper playgrounds. He thought that if the SAI centre were in Manipur, it would provide the necessary training to generate players in different disciplines.
At that time, he remembered the scene of players playing in the muddy local ground and the paddy field after harvesting, which he had also experienced. He visualised how the players were playing with dedication without proper playgrounds in the present situation.
In view of the financial constraints of the state, he urged the central government to provide such facilities as were available in other developed states in the state of Manipur. He was convinced that if suitable land for such infrastructure were available in Manipur, he could press the centre to provide such facilities. His idea and hope were the SAI centre’s construction, where various disciplines’ facilities were available. In search of a land, it was found that the area of Khuman Lampak, which was almost marshland, was used as a dumping site. It was also learnt that illegal encroachers were likely to occupy the area. As a minister in charge of revenue, he allotted the area for developing sports infrastructure in the near future. At the initial stage, SAI provided a temporary hostel in Khuman Lampak. He intended to open an SAI centre, which had not yet been accomplished, though he continued to pursue. During the time, the Manipur Olympic Association discussed with him to organise significant sports events in line with the Olympics. Later on, it was a turning point for the sports movement by constructing a modern type of stadium. In such a stadium in Manipur, he thought that the players of Manipur could display their inherent sports quality at the National and international levels. He also liked to preserve our indigenous games, which would be played inside the stadium, so that the games could be displayed worldwide. Therefore, he specially instructed to construct a kangshang to play the indoor indigenous game of kang. It deserves to have such Kangshang.
Another idea that came to his mind was the existence of Hafta Kangjeibung inside the palace during the time of Maharaja Churachand. He felt his duty was to preserve such a historical place and a playground where indigenous games were played. The name of the ground was Hafta Kangjeibung.
Th. Chaoba was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 11th, 12th, and 13th Lok Sabha from Inner Manipur and became Union Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports. When he was the Union Minister of State, it was realised that only the stadium might not be able to provide facilities for a higher level of sports standards and competition. It was initially to take the opportunities provided by the different schemes that the Government of India provided. The Sports Authority of India was set up in 1984 under the National Sports policy for promoting sports for achieving excellence at the national and international levels.
He thought that a sports institution like the SAI centre was necessary to have a regional centre in Manipur to cater to the needs of sports persons for the entire North-East region. His effort made the SAI centre open at Imphal for the first time in the North-East region. His main objective was to provide available facilities for sportspeople to achieve their performance worldwide. When he visited some SAI centres in India, he found that all the SAI centre playgrounds and hostels were accommodated in buildings that the respective state governments provided. Still, his intention in opening the SAI was for it to be functional in their land and construction so that SAI and the sports persons could freely concentrate on their respective activities. He also donated land to the SAI extension centre at Utlou. His vision for sports development in Manipur was not only the construction of a stadium and the opening of the SAI centre, but also the opening of a sports educational institution for scientific, technological and research studies. To achieve his vision, he approached the then Honourable Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to open such an institution in Manipur in view of the sports achievements in Manipur.
Another fascinating story is that India exposed the value of the practice of Yoga while a delegation of the country visited the USA, to attend an international convention relating to the issue of anti-doping in sports. While approving the visit of members, he wanted to know the points to be proposed from the side of India. He expressed that if we do not have a new idea on the topic, it is unnecessary to approve the proposal. The concept and the value of Yoga about anti-doping were explained to him by a Yoga teacher from the state of Kerala. Shri Chaoba Singh realised that the value of yoga was applicable to many of mankind’s activities, including sports. That was explained in the discussion. The members of other countries in the meeting were so impressed that as many as 15 countries requested India to depute a Yoga instructor to their countries. It was a significant achievement on the part of the country to expose the value of Yoga in other countries of the world.
The contribution of the Th. Chaoba played a significant role in sports development by allotting land for the Khuman Lampak sports Complex, and bringing the SAI regional centre in Manipur, which practically made the vibrant hub of sports activities and helped foster a spirit of competition and achievement. He deserves gratitude for his contribution to sports in Manipur.
The writer is a PhD Scholar, Manipur University and can be reached at: yaiphabafff@gmail.com
