India midfielder Jeakson Singh Thounaojam grabbed much of the headlines after the 22-year-old draped himself in a ‘Kangleipak flag’ soon after Sunil Chhetri’s men defeated Kuwait on penalties at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to lift the SAFF Championship on Tuesday.
Moments after Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved Khalid El Ebrahim’s shot in the sudden death, Jeakson wrapped the Kangleipak flag around him and celebrated with teammates. He even took the winner’s medal draped in it.
The Kangleipak flag is a multi-coloured (seven) banner that represents seven clan dynasties of the Meitei ethnicity of Ancient Manipur.
"It's my Manipur flag. I just wanted to tell everyone in India and Manipur to stay in peace and not fight. I want peace. It's been 2 months now and still fighting is going on," Jeakson, India's only goalscorer in a World Cup game (in the 2017 under-17 tournament), told ESPN after the match.
"I don't want that kind of thing to happen more and I just want to bring the government's and other people's attention to get peace you know.
"My family is safe but there are a lot of families who have suffered and lost their home and all. Yeah it's difficult now...even for me it's difficult to go back home now with the situation...even I don't know what's going to happen. I hope things get well soon," he added.
"It's (the) Manipur flag. I just wanted to... what's happening in Manipur. I just wanted to tell everyone in India and Manipur to stay in peace and not fight. I want peace. It's been two months now and still fighting is going on. Yes, my family is safe but there are people who have suffered and lost their homes and all. Yeah, it's difficult now. Even for me it's going to be difficult to back home now with the situation. Even I do not know what's going to happen... I hope things get well soon," Jeakson added.
However, Jeakson later clarified with a tweet. "By celebrating in the flag, I did not want to hurt the sentiments of anyone. I intended to bring notice to the issues that my home state, Manipur, is facing currently. This win is dedicated to all the Indians."
Later on the day, the All India Football Federation tweeted. "Since Jeakson Singh Thounaojam has already issued a statement on this clarifying his position we are not going to take it forward."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the Indian football team performance and said their remarkable journey will continue to inspire upcoming sportspersons.
"India crowned champions, yet again! The Blue Tigers reign supreme at the SAFF Championship 2023! Congrats to our players," Modi said in a tweet.
"The Indian Team's remarkable journey, powered by the determination and tenacity of these athletes, will continue to inspire upcoming sportspersons," he said.
