SUNIRAM ENGTI: This is a true and inspiring story of a young boy who in the midst of all hurdles and constraints emerged as the real world challenger. Suniram Engti , an alumni of Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (NEEPCO), Umrangso (Passed his XII Arts in 2016) now not only confines within Umrangso or Dima Hasao district of Assam but also known very well in different parts of the world among the Karate circles. As a teacher of Vivekananda Kendra Viyalaya ( NEEPCO), Umrangso it gives me immense pleasure , happiness and pride to find his name labelled with the greatest Karatekas of the globe. This is not because he is bringing medals for India but there is another part linked with it and I need to touch upon that.
Suniram Engti is the eldest son of Jongdang Engti and Kajir Rongpipi. His father Jongdang Engti is the gardener of our Vidyalaya.
Geographically, economically and from other aspects, Dima Hasao is remote and less developed than other parts of Assam; and when we come to Umrangso it is rated much lower than Haflong in DimaHasao district. Road conditions linking Umrangso with Guwahati, Shillong and Silchar always remain in woeful condition; making it even poorer. But Suniram’s resident is not in Umrangso it is around 8 Km away from VKV(NEEPCO), Umrangso - in a village called Boralonglai. Condition of the villagers is generally in “Hand To Mouth Existence” and only a counted few are serving as Grade D employee in some organisations. Educational awareness is lacking among the villagers as their primary and only need remains procurement of food.
I have seen Suniram from his infancy. Walking a long distance of 8 Km to the school and return home after school was his regular phenomenon. By the time Suniram reached his senior secondary classes, he used to take 30min to cover the hilly road of 8 Km to reach school. So I believe these were the building blocks which materialized later on to make him strong. His daily routine was filled with other things like ploughing, farming and selling the agricultural produce in the market.These I would like to put in the first place of the ladder that helped him secure medals.
Those days, during his schooling; Karate was introduced as a co-curriculum subject. Karate classes did not continue for more than 3 years but those classes created an impression in the child Suniram’s mind. Every morning he used to get up early and practised Karate – Kata, Kick, Yoga for long hours. As it remained a continued process for him and eventually his lickings, Hobby got converted to aim and goal in life. The boy understood the financial constraints of his family and the locality and that may be the another reason which I believe made him stronger and determined to do something big for his family in specific and locality in general. So, these I would like to put in the second place of the ladder that helped him secure medals.
As a student, Suniram was a mediocre, very obedient and down to earth . His words were very gentle and he had utmost respect towards his teachers. This I believe is above all, the most important ingredient to achieve success in life. His teachers’ blessings and good wishes always worked silently for him.
Later on, Suniram took more hardship to develop himself
in the field of Karate. Presently he is holding Karate Black Belt 2nd Dan. His instructors are Md.
Siraj Ahmed from India( National Chief Instructor) and Soke Fukuda Hirotaka ,
Chief Instructor Japan. Presently
Suniram is appointed as N.E. INDIA chief
instructor
A Glimpse of his Achievements:
1) In
2012 he represented Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya(NEEPCO) Umrangso and secured
Bronze medal in All India Karate Championship , which was held in Tezpur Assam
.
2) 28TH
April 2019 , won Bronze Medal in South
Asian Karate Championship held in New
Delhi.
3) From
23rd to 26th August 2019, participated in Kumite(fight) in World Karate Championship which
was held in Tokyo, Japan. There he was adjourned as the Best Discipline
Fighting Award.
4)
From
5th to 10th October 2019, he participated in the International Karate Championship which was held in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia. He
secured there real GOLD MEDAL by defeating Philippine in 2:3 points.
5)
He
got selection for World Karate Championship , 2020. The event was supposed to
be held from July 10th 2020 in FLORIDA , USA but it was cancelled
because of corona pandemic.
So this Umrangso boy needs every body’s motivation and wishes to fly our tri colour in foreign land. Hope, he might bring more laurels for our motherland in the near future.
By - Santanu Nandi Purkayastha
