Unbreakable- An Autobiography

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I live in Imphal, Manipur. My house, a government quarter in Langol Games Village, is only a couple of hours from Kangathei village, which is where I grew up. But when I think about it, I see what a long, long journey it has been for me, for all of us, from Kangathei to Imphal.

There are policemen standing outside the campus. They have big guns. It's a common sight everywhere in Manipur. Both the policemen and the army men.

Past them and through the tall gate is my home. As you enter, you'll see that the walls of my living room are full of framed photographs, photos that mark the milestones in my boxing career.

I never tire of them. In fact, every so often, I stop to look at them because I am never sure if all this is real - the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri. Did I really get them? Here I am, standing next to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. There, the next president, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, is handing me the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. There's a photograph of me with two former sports ministers, Uma Bharati and M.S. Gill. So many others. Photographs of me with people whom I couldn't have met - or did I?

These visual reminders root me to the present. They tell me that I will not wake up the next morning to find myself back in Kangathei, my family and I getting ready for another day of grinding labour in the fields.

As soon as I walk into the house, my twin sons come charging at me and right into my arms. They are quite a handful, always up to some mischief, and they are the centre of my life. Now, there is my third son. Yet another focus for my being. Onler husband, friend, partner smiles at this all-too-familiar scene. My family: the surest reminder that I am here, that none of this is a dream. My years of relentless labour, hard work, the refusal to give up, pushing every boundary I encountered. The thrill, the joy of fighting and winning, all my successes. Boxing, the sport I gave myself to. And the bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics, my most prized possession. It is all real. All of it. I was the David who took on the Goliaths and I won, most of the time. in the boxing ring.

I thank God for making all of this possible.