Thang-Ta in Uttarakhand

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on ANI/The Tribune — Young Manipuris embrace Thang-Ta (2025), ResearchGate — Analyzing the Development of Modern Thang-Ta Sports in India, Imphal Review of Arts and Politics — KIMACS school curriculum coverage, Wikipedia — Thang Ta, Gurumayum Gourakishor Sharma, Jelettay.com — Khelo India indigenous martial arts inclusion. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Ancient Manipur
Category: Traditional
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: Thang-Ta Federation of India
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: On the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Thang Ta"Source: Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — Discipline wise Participation in all editions of Khelo India Games (19th Edition) (2026-08-29)
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Thang-Ta is listed on SportSupport in the traditional category. Its recorded origin is Ancient Manipur. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list Thang-Ta Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Thang-Ta has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through Thang-Ta Federation of India may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme. Thang-Ta appears on the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Thang Ta", so junior talent identified by the discipline's selectors can be considered under Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID). (Source: Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — Discipline wise Participation in all editions of Khelo India Games (19th Edition).)

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for thang-ta athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to thang-ta.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given thang-ta event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which thang-ta events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

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Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for thang-ta yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

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Rules

Thang-Ta (huyen langlon, the Manipuri martial art of the sword — thang — and spear — ta) is contested in competition across three broad formats: phunaba ama (individual and paired weapon demonstration judged on form, rhythm, footwork and control), leiteng thang-ta or sparring bouts fought with padded/blunted weapons and protective gear over timed rounds, and unarmed thengkourol/sarit-sarak techniques. Judges score technique, accuracy of prescribed sequences, timing, stance and coordination between partners rather than damaging contact; uncontrolled strikes, striking outside the permitted target areas, dropping the weapon and breaking the prescribed sequence are penalised. Championships are run in separate age (sub-junior, junior, senior) and gender categories.

Authoritative rulebook: Thang-Ta Federation of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across traditional sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced thang-ta squad list.

Raider / attacker
Traditional role responsible for scoring points in the opposition half.
Defender / anchor
Prevents the raider from returning and holds the defensive line.
All-rounder / captain
Both raids and defends; captain also runs on-field strategy.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in thang-ta at a federation-recognised event.

Thang — Manipuri sword, blunted or padded for competition
Ta — spear, used in both demonstration and thrown/exhibition forms
Chungoi — shield used in paired sword-and-shield play
Padded body armour, helmet with face guard and gloves for sparring bouts
Traditional dress — pheijom/dhoti with waist sash for demonstration events
Matted competition area with marked boundaries and judges' scoring panel

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Thang-Ta Federation of India

Thang-Ta Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Thang-Ta, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement of current recognition — recognition is granted year by year.

Origin: Ancient Manipur
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Traditional

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Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in thang-ta.

National Thang-Ta Championship
Organized by the Thang-Ta Federation of India (TTFI, established 1993 in New Delhi as the sport's national apex body) since 1993, now split into separate Senior and Junior National Championships (27th Senior edition held in Jammu, 2021; 28th Junior edition in Manipur, 2022).
National School Games
At the 68th National School Games Championship (2025, Imphal), Manipur swept the overall Under-14 and Under-19 titles in both boys' and girls' categories, with Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir — now a genuine competitive hub for the sport outside Manipur — following closely.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in thang-ta.

World Thang-Ta Championship
The inaugural edition was held in Imphal in 2011, drawing around 15 countries including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Canada and Malaysia. TTFI has organized international-level competition since.
Recognition milestones
Thang-Ta was recognized by the Indian Olympic Association in 2006, and was included in the Khelo India Youth Games from 2021.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for thang-ta. The national championship under Thang-Ta Federation of India remains the top domestic competition.

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International Players

Globally recognised thang-ta athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for thang-ta maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in thang-ta — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Thang-Ta survived a genuine brush with extinction: after the British annexed Manipur following the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, the colonial administration banned the practice of martial arts, and masters kept the tradition alive by teaching secretly, disguising sword and spear movements as religious and cultural dance
A federation leader has said the sport 'would have passed into oblivion in recent decades had national recognition not come'
The grassroots Kanglei Indigenous Martial Arts and Cultural Society (KIMACS) helped get Thang-Ta into Manipur's school curriculum from 2007, and it is now a supplementary subject in the state's BOSEM and COHSEM education boards, with undergraduate and graduate courses available at Manipur University
Guru Gurumayum Gourakishor Sharma received a Padma Shri in 2009 for his contribution to preserving the art
Playing pathway through TTFI's state associations and school/university programmes; coaching through TTFI-recognized gurus

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Related academies

0 listed

No thang-ta academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

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Government Schemes

1 listed

Central and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for thang-ta athletes and academies.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (under Khelo India)
Promotion of Rural and Indigenous/Tribal Games
Financial support and scholarship for the preservation and promotion of India's traditional and indigenous games.

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FAQs

Common questions about thang-ta in India.

Who governs Thang-Ta in India?▾

We list Thang-Ta Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Thang-Ta, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Thang-Ta an Olympic sport?▾

No, Thang-Ta is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Thang-Ta in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Thang-Ta Federation of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Thang-Ta athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Thang-Ta is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Thang-Ta appears on the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Thang Ta", so athletes identified by the discipline's selectors can be considered under Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID). Appearing on the list is not itself a grant of funding.

Thang-Ta in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Thang-Ta in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.