CHENNAI: It had not been this good for any of the fencers. The freedom to train without thinking about violence and remorse. Manipur has been on the boil since May. It has hardly had any sporting activity.
Training is the last thing on their mind when survival takes precedence. The fencers from the state are now in Chennai at the invitation of the Tamil Nadu government. It has been a big relief for them.
After months they are training together. A motley bunch of junior and senior, national and international fencers arrived in Chennai a few days ago to train at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
Sharing their concern on missing training sessions, coach P Nandini of Khongman Fencing Academy in the outskirts of Imphal, said it was hard on the fencers.
“One day we would call for training, the next day it would stop because of curfew or bandh,” she told this daily, adding this is the first time they are able to train together without any worry.
When she got to know about the opportunity in Chennai to train, she did not want to miss it.
“When we landed here (on Sunday) we were taken by surprise. The facilities and things that we are getting here are very good. We are booked in a hotel, our travel has been taken care of. There will be youth games and we are preparing for that. They (athletes) are free and relieved and are able to train well,” she added.
S Chingkheinganbi, who took part in the 2018 Asian Fencing Championship, echoed the sentiment.
“We were all worried because National Games is taking place in October and our state team has to practice. We are grateful to the Tamil Nadu government for taking care of us. We are practising here and our minds are free, without any worries,” she said, thanking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. All the expenses for their travel, accommodation and training are being taken care of by the TN government.