Sports saved me from becoming insurgent: Boxer L Sarita Devi | Boxing News

AMINGAON (Assam): “I was influenced by militants to go towards insurrection and carried arms for them, but sport changed me and motivated me to work for the glory of my country”, champion Laishram boxer Sarita Devi said Tuesday.
Speaking at the ongoing Y20 summit here, Devi recalled the horror of the insurgency at its peak in the early 1990s in her home state of Manipur and said only sports l had prevented her from becoming an insurgent.
“I lived in a small village and I saw the militants every day when I was 12-13 years old. At my house, about fifty insurgents visited me daily. I saw their guns and I wanted to be like them. I evolved into insurgency,” she added.
The old lightweight world boxing The champion confessed that she used to carry weapons from place to place for insurgents and was influenced by underground extremists.
“I dreamed of becoming like them and I loved playing with guns. I didn’t know what to do in sports and I didn’t even know that sports could bring name and fame to me and my country. . I survived the insurgency through sport,” she added.
Then one day Devi’s brother beat her for wanting to become an insurgent and this incident changed her life afterwards, the pugilist said.
“I played sports and then I represented India for the first time in 2001 at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok and won a silver medal. I saw China receive the gold medal, their national anthem was played and everyone paid their respects. That’s when I got emotional,” she added.
Devi then decided to bring glory to India by winning the gold medal, playing the Indian national anthem at the awards ceremony.
“After that I worked hard and played a number of games from 2001 to 2020 winning several medals. I continued to play for my country. The sport changed me. I want to see the same change with the young people in my country,” she added.
She advocated making sport compulsory for young people in schools as it has a positive impact on health.
Talking about drug addiction, Devi said, “Nowadays kids are taking drugs and it’s a big problem in my state. They can be changed through sports. These kids can also bring glory to the nation with the aid of sports.”
Calling on sports authorities to motivate youngsters to play sports, the boxer pointed out that many young lives have been lost due to the threat of drugs in Manipur as well as other states in India.

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