Manipur: Football blurs Meitei, Kuki faultline, ushers unity on the field

IMPHAL: The tight hug that Bharat Lairenjam and Levis Zangminlun shared after scoring two outstanding goals to lift the South Asian Football Federation SAFF under-16 champion trophy on Sunday, meant more than a thousand words.
Nothing surprising after a resounding win, only that Bharat is a Meitei and Levis is a Kuki. Back home in Manipur, their communities are at each other's throats, where brutality, murder and mayhem have become commonplace since May.
Of the total 23 players of the Indian squad, 16 are from strife-torn Manipur, and among them 11 are Meiteis, 4 Kukis and a Meitei Pangal (Manipuri Muslim). They simply prayed for peace to return to the state.
Hailing from Bishnupur district's Nambol, Bharat scored the first goal in the 8th minute, while Levis, a resident of Churachandpur, netted the second goal in the 74th minute in the final match played against Bangladesh at Thimphu, Bhutan, on Sunday.
An elated Bharat said that he was so happy to score the goal since it was his "goal of the championship".
"Though players belong to different communities in the team, we mingle happily in good team spirit," he said on Monday. "My teammate, midfielder Levis, told me before the match that I should score to win the match and his (Levis) second goal was a crucial one for India to grab the title. I rushed towards him and gave him a tight hug to celebrate the goal," he added. On the current crisis in Manipur , Bharat said he would like to see the state returning back to normal like the good old days.
Levis stated he felt nervous when he stepped out in the field for the final. "However, my confidence soared after I scored the second and last crucial goal," said Levis. On the ongoing conflict in Manipur and his teammates belonging to different communities of the state, Levis said, "Football served as their common passion, uniting and allowing them to set aside their differences."
Abbas Shingjamayum, the Meitei Pangal player from Manipur who bagged the "Most Valuable Player" and "Top Scorer" (with three goals) in the championship, said, "We didn't even speak a word on the conflict in Manipur and instead focused on football and team spirit."
All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) general secretary Lairikyengbam Jyotirmoy Roy said in sport, there is no boundary of ethnicity as manifested by the squad.