MANIPUR EXTREME SPORTS

Foreign instructors to train State riders

Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 18 2009: In what could be described as a welcome boost to extreme sports lovers of the state, instructors from Indonesia have expressed interest in sharing their experiences in training Manipuri youths fine-tune their skills from next year.

Extreme Sports officials from Indonesia, who are currently in Imphal in connection with the ongoing Manipur Tourism Festival are said to been impressed with the raw talent of a bunch of State riders who had showcased their skill at the same festival.

It is worth noting that Link Commissioner (Tourism) KK Chhetry had also announced that extreme sports instructors from Indonesia and Thailand have expressed willingness to provide coaching tips to State riders.

Riders from these south east Asian countries are also taking part in the Festival and already displayed BMX shows.
"We have seen Manipuri boys riding BMX well and they have all the potential to become perfect riders for which we have decided to train them next year at Imphal," said vice president of Asian Extreme Sports federation (AESF) Jojaya Charlie K .
He also confided that officials of AISF as well as Extreme Sports Association of Indian (ESAI) would be approached for providing training to the State riders specifically in BMX, skateboard and Aggressive in-line skate.
On the otherhand, ESAI secretary general Irom Umananda, himself a State native, informed that he would visit Thailand and Indonesia to formalise mode of holding such training in the country for the first time ever.
"Though this sports discipline is very new to our country we have around 15 registered BMX riders and many young riders have shown their enthusiasm in it after witnessing the first rate performance given by the Indonesia and Thailand riders on ramp in the tourism festival," Umananda said.
The BMX riding ramp provided by the government might be utilised for the training stints, he said adding that the association is also planning to buy standard BMX cycles for the trainees.
The Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association (MMTA), a key partner of the festival in overseeing conduct of adventure sports encompassing ES, also pledged to extend support to the proposed coaching camp.
"Since our youths can quickly adapt to all types of sports, we hope they can easily compete in the international ES competitions after acquiring good training," said MMTA president Leishangthem Surjit.
Indonesian rider Okke Oktavianus (24), who bagged silver medal in the recently concluded Singapore open (ES) and showcased his finest BMX freestyle in the tourism festival, said 'our friends in Manipur are also riding well'.
"They (Manipuri youths) can quickly adapt to this game and I hope they will also join in international competitions very soon," he added.