KIBG: Okram Completes 25 Years, Keeps Leading Manipur's Sepak Takraw Revolution

It was the year 2000 when a young Jimi Devi Okram stood beside a dusty field in West Imphal's Singjamei district, watching her seniors practice a curious sport with acrobatic kicks and flying reflexes.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 MAY

Beside a dusty field in West Imphal's Singjamei district, watching her seniors practice a curious sport with acrobatic kicks and flying reflexes. The National Games had just been held in Manipur in 1999. Two and a half decades later, Jimi, 38, stands tall as one of the senior-most players in Sepak Takraw at the inaugural Khelo India Beach Games in Diu.

The Manipuri athlete was raised by a widowed mother and later supported by an equally determined elder sister. "My mother always told me, 'Go play if it makes you happy.'" That early encouragement became her purpose. Jimi lost her mother, too, but never her resolve. "My mom always used to support me. I play even now with the aim to make her name shine always. She will always be an angel beneath my wings," Jimi told SAI Media.

"My elder sister, who works in a beauty parlour in Manipur, has filled my mom's position in my life. She has motivated me to go forward with my sports journey and from the money we both earn; she gives me the major chunk to help me prolong my sports career. Before coming to the Khelo India Beach Games too, my elder sister helped me a lot in various ways and has never made me feel the absence of my parents," added Jimi, who has competed in the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.