For Manipur’s Fencing Hero Jetlee, Olympics is A Destination, Not A Dream

There are just a few sporting events that can look royal, archaic, and modern, all at the same time. The sport of fencing may have begun as military training and evolved into a sport in the 14th or 15th century in both Germany and Italy, but it is a modern sport with the latest technologies used to determine winners. And oh, the costs are very modern too. According to professional fencers, the combined cost of equipment and uniform, including shoes, could be somewhere between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh. And that is just the beginning.

The prohibitive costs make it a no-go for most Indian youth, and even more, if you are not from an affluent family. This is perhaps why the achievements of Chingakham Jetlee Singh from Kyamgei Mayai Leikai village in Imphal East district deserve so much praise.

Youngest of the three siblings, Jetlee’s parents: Ch Sharat Singh and Ayingbi Devi run a roadside dhaba in the village that serves roti, sabzi, and evening chai with fritters. Even though the parents knew the prohibitive costs, they were in no mood to throw cold water on their son’s aspirations. Jetlee was inspired by a senior named Eklavya to switch over to fencing from football. “I was initially into football as it’s popular in our region, but after a couple of years, started developing an interest in fencing after watching Eklavya winning medals in the sport,” he says.

As Jetlee acknowledges in this interview with EastMojo, the parents have always been supportive of his choice even though they had very little knowledge about the sport.

A bit of research aided by inputs from the coaches, helped the couple acquire the kit (uniform and equipment), albeit a first copy by investing a mere Rs 3,000. Little did they get an inkling that the kit would inspire young Jetlee to fetch his first couple of medals at the national level.

In December 2013, Jetlee joined the local academy under Haodam Manglemba Meitei, and within months, gave glimpses of a bright future when he returned with a silver medal at the sub-junior national championships, and later bettered the color with a gold medal finish in the junior nationals, in 2015.

Jetlee’s meteoric rise in what he termed “Chinese copy” kits, was tracked by the scouts from the famed Army Institute of Sports (ASI) in Pune, and in 2016, he was selected to join the institute, which is also one of the SAI National Centre’s of Excellence. For the past six-seven years, Jetlee has been training in the institute and has recently been appointed as a Havaldar.