Khelo India Youth Games: Fencer Mangaleibi’s journey inspired by her grandmother

As a child the only stroke Mangaleibi Takhellambam was familiar with was the swift, deft hand movements with a needle. Hailing from a family of weavers in Manipur’s Imphal East district, Mangaleibi wanted to chart a different course for herself. And the little girl’s eyes fell on a fencer elegantly flourishing the blade.
She instantly took to the sport. Mangaleibi’s biggest supporter was her grandmother who got her enrolled in a nearby fencing academy. Six years on, the girl, still only 15-years-old, won the silver medal in women’s individual foil in her first Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai, giving a glimpse of her talent and hard work that can take her to bigger platforms.
“I was nine years old and used to watch a lot of sports events on television with my grandmother. She suggested I take up some sport. My grandmother took me to an academy where I saw some fencers training. I was fascinated by fencing and picked up the sport,” she said on Sunday after her podium finish.
“My parents are weavers. They deal in traditional Manipuri clothes and sell them to shops. When I started, my grandmother would buy me all the equipment and dress. Even now she spends the monthly pension of my late grandfather on me. Whenever I ask her for money, she readily helps me. My parents are also supportive,” said the class X student.
Mangaleibi started her career with silver in women’s foil at the sub-junior nationals in Kerala in 2021-22. At the junior cadet nationals in Gujarat last year, she won bronze. This year at the KIYG, she was determined to win gold for her grandmother.
“This was my first Khelo India Youth Games and there are mixed feelings. I wanted to win gold, but this silver will inspire me to work hard towards my goal of winning the gold.
“My grandmother has taught me to keep trying and to not give up till you achieve your goals. Whenever I prepare for a competition, I speak to her and she keeps inspiring me. She is very happy that I won the silver medal for her,” says the Sports Authority of India trainee at NCOE, Takyel campus.
A fan of Tokyo Olympics silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, Mangaleibi wants to emulate her. “I am inspired by her, although she is in a different sport. I like her dedication and how she has made the country proud at the Olympics.”