Meet Manipur’s ‘Wushu Family’ & The Neurosurgeon Who Coaches Budding Champs

Imphal: If you have the passion and drive to do something, nothing can stop you.

Take the case of Dr Amitkumar, a Manipuri neurosurgeon who teaches wushu at a quiet corner in Imphal East district. Even the ongoing ethnic violence in the north-eastern state has not been able to subdue the enthusiasm of the man who hails from Manipur’s ‘wushu family’.

A resident of Brahmapur Nahabam Bamon Leikai in Imphal East, Amitkumar is a consultant neurosurgeon at the nearby state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS).

After his daily medical work at the hospital, Amitkumar puts on his tracksuit and goes straight to the Wangkhei area where he trains 50 children, including girls, at a community hall.

It’s only after completing his training that the neurosurgeon returns home in the evening.

“Medicine is my profession and wushu is my passion and way of life as I have been associated with the game since I was in 3rd standard. I will continue to play and train wushu till my health permits,” said a soft-spoken Amitkumar, who himself was a wushu exponent of national and international repute.

Amitkumar apart, there are 4 other coaches, and they charge minimal fees from the trainees.

To pay coaches’ monthly remuneration, Amitkumar himself contributes Rs 25,000 to the funds pool.

His wushu journey was initiated through his father Mayanglambam Biramani Singh, who is just 20 years older than Amitkumar. It was Biramani who started the wushu movement in Manipur in 1990.

A retired state government employee, Biramani was a Budokan karate exponent before switching to wushu in 1990 after learning the sport from Master Chin, chief wushu coach of Malaysia at the behest of Grand Master of Budokan karate Chew Choo Soot at his Kaula Lumpur residence.

“I began learning wushu from my father when I was a young kid. When my father went out for his work, I learnt the theoretical part of the game at home. Once he returned home, I again practised with him,” recalled Amitkumar.

He developed into an accomplished player, and won a bagful of medals in several national meets.

Amitkumar participated in the 1st, 3rd and 7th World Wushu Championships in Beijing (1991), Baltimore (1995) and Macau (2003), respectively. He became the first Indian to score above 9 points (9.20) in an International competition — at the 3rd World Wushu Championships in Baltimore, USA, in 1995, a record that stood till 2011.

Amitkumar’s younger brother Sachidananda Mayanglambam and their youngest sister Mayanglambam Usharani are also renowned wushu players of international repute.

Interestingly, Sachidananda is currently acting as a technical official at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games.

Before joining JNIMS, Amitkumar was a Major for five years in the Indian Army’s short service commission. During that period, he helped establish — and also worked additionally for a few years – ‘Army Wushu Node’, imparting training to Army players in Shillong in 2005.

Besides saving many lives as a surgeon, Amitkumar has also produced a number of national and international wushu medal winners. Among the shining athletes include L Sanatombi Devi, M Gyandash Singh, M Punshiva Meitei who clinched a bunch of gold medals in several international competitions.