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OSR/MOA Media team
IMPHAL, Jan 29 : After Sarungbam Athouba (gold) and Soram Telheiba (silver) opened Manipur's medal account on January 26 in Triathlon, Manipur continue to swell its medal tally in the 38th National Games hosted by Uttarakhand thanks to Wushu athletes.
The day saw T Saya Chanu extending Manipur's gold medal tally at the games by finishing atop in the women's Changquan competition while compatriots Marshal Salam and K Panthoi Devi secured silver medals respectively in men's and women's Changquan competition.
Later in the day, Y Bonish and Kongjengbam Luxmi stretched Manipur's gold medal haul as Hanjabam Langlentombi added another silver medal taking State's medal haul in Wushu to 6.
Both Y Bonish and K Luxmi fetched the gold medal in the Nanquan competition as Langlentombi won a silver medal in the same event.
On winning the medals at Kanchenjunga Hall in Dehradun, Chef De Mission of the State contingent Rajchandra Moirangthem expressed happiness and lauded the fighting spirit of State athletes whose preparation was badly affected by the prevailing crisis situations.
It may be mentioned that 39 wushu players including 20 female athletes are participating in this edition of the National Games which was formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dehradun yesterday.
In an exclusive chat with MOA Media Team, Arjuna Awardee and State Wushu coach M Bimojit Singh exuded confidence that the State team will win more gold medals in the evening session.
Well ahead the commencement of the games, Bimoljit had informed the MOA Media Team that the State wushu players will deliver their best in sporting extravaganza and the State could expect more than 10 gold medals from the discipline.
Notably, Wushu was introduced for the first time in the National Games in Guwahati in 2007 and Manipur has been dominating the discipline and emerged one of the major medal contenders in the previous National Games. So far four Wushu players of Manipur have also received Arjuna awards.
In the 37th National Games which was hosted by Goa in 2023, Manipur finished with a staggering haul of 9 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals in Wushu against 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals won in the 36th National Games hosted by Gujarat in 2022.
The rich medal haul in the discipline also tremendously helped Manipur make top ten finish in the Gujarat games.
On January 26, Manipur triathlete Sarungbam Athouba Meitei created history by securing a gold medal in men's individual competition of 38th National Games Uttarakhand ending after 26 years of wait. Athouba's achievement came after P Subhaschandra's gold medal feat in the 5th National Games hosted by Manipur in 1999.