Leader Writer: Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh
Sports have been a saving grace for our society since a long time. It has always lifted our spirits and provided something to hope upon whenever our society seemed overburdened with the myriads of problems and issues which come up on a daily basis. Sports have also acted as a unifying force for our society which boasts of numerous different communities all with their own sets of complaints and issues. Sports have always made us forget our small differences and tie us together every time one of our players comes up in the world arena. Regardless of which community the player belongs to, we have always joined together in chorus and supported whenever we see one of our own in the field. We have always been proud of our sportspersons and have always let our blessings and well-wishes push them a little harder and further in their quest to shine in the world and bring back glory to the state. Such is the power of sports and it certainly occupies an important place in our hearts. In spite of all the things sports have provided to our society, there have been certain black spots in its history. It has had its own share of controversies and issues. In the last fortnight or so, the state had witnessed certain developments which could certainly dampen the spirit of sports lovers in the state. We have certainly heard of crowd violence, referee misjudgements allegation, players turning violent happening right here in our playing fields in the past. But the latest addition that has grasped the attention of the entire state was the last match of the 7th Manipur State League played at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium on October 23. This year’s edition of the Manipur State League has had its fair share of controversies and allegations flying.
Voices of frustration from the spectators’ gallery had echoed through the stadium on October 23 during the match played between the Manipur Police Sports Club and the Southern Sporting Union, Singjamei with the latter drubbing the former by 9-1 to win the league cup. Going into the match, SSU was at the second spot of the points table and had to defeat MPSC (in third spot) by a margin of 8 or more goals. Whatever the outcome of the match was, what the spectators cried hoarse about was the way the match was played. Match fixing has been a part of international sports for quite some-time now with even internationally acclaimed players falling from grace. And yes it might have been present in our system too; but never has the indication of a match fixing in our society so blatant in the past. Both teams are capable of defeating their opponents with such a large margin and whether the match was rigged or not, is for the organizers and the concerned authorities to find out. But for anyone who follows the league and is aware of the background of the match, it would not be hard to decide. And we hope the authorities concern would find out the truth. Players are idolised in this small society of ours and players should act out accordingly. Their every move inspires many a youngsters. While it is certainly disturbing that we get to witness such unusual act in the fields of the state, what is more disheartening and more disturbing is the fact that we haven’t heard much noise from the general public except for a few random voices on the issue. While it would be absurd to come out and stage sit ins and demonstrations; nonetheless it would be laudable if our people could consider the developments as a negative stride.