In the men’s 100m event heat at the 38th National Games 2025, Letjakai Lenthang finished second last by clocking 11.33s. He wore a blue vest with Mizoram printed on his back.
The track and field athlete reached Dehradun, just a day before the event from Aizawl.
“I know I didn’t run well but in a way I still feel like I’ve achieved something. I shouldn’t even have been here,” he says Sportstar while trying to be optimistic.
Lenthang is a state champion for Manipur in the U-18 and U-20 categories. His last participation for his state team was in the All India Universities championships in 2023.
“I was supposed to compete in a state level competition on May 6. I’d gone home to my village in Kangpokpi a few days before that. I was there when the war started on May 3,” he says referring to the 2023-24 Manipur Violence.
“I was staying in Manipur University when I was training in Imphal. It was only because I’d gone home to my village that I narrowly escaped being caught in the violence. I had to leave everything behind. I lost a lot of things. After the war I went to Aizawl where I’m continuing my sports,” he added.
The Kuki-zo community comprises 16 per cent of the state population. No athletes from this community was a part of the National Games in Uttarakhand where Manipur fielded a strong team of 416 members.
It was the same case for the community in the previous edition held in Goa.
The last time a Kuki-zo community participated at the National Games was in 2022.
“We got confirmation that the National Games are going to be held only a couple of months before the Games opened. With the situation as it is in Manipur, it was a huge task to even organise trials and a team to compete at the Games. We did the best with what was possible,” N Ibungochoubi, the joint secretary of the Manipur Olympic Association, was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
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