A young girl from a remote corner of Arunachal Pradesh just ran her way into the spotlight — and she made it look almost effortless.
Yanu Mane, who hails from Monigong in the Shi Yomi district, delivered one of the standout performances of the 37th East Zone Junior Athletics Championship 2026, clinching gold in the 800m and silver in the 1500m event. The championship was held at the Pataliputra Sports Complex in Kankarbagh, Patna, between September 22 and 24 — and when the dust settled on the track, Mane’s name was one that everyone was talking about.
To put this into perspective: the East Zone Junior Athletics Championship is not a local school meet. It is a highly competitive regional stage where the best young track and field talents from across eastern India go head-to-head. Finishing on the podium in two events at this level is no small thing. Finishing on top of it in one — with gold — is the kind of result that signals a future that demands attention.
Mane is currently training under coach Priyo Kumar Meitei at the Sanjay Lhaden Sports Academy in Chimpu, Itanagar. The Academy has quietly been building a reputation for producing competitive athletes, and Mane is perhaps one of its brightest products right now. She has been competing at the national level, and performances like this one only strengthen her case for bigger platforms ahead.
The daughter of Taling Mane and Yajum Mane, she grew up in Monigong — a place most people in mainstream India couldn’t find on a map. That’s part of what makes stories like hers resonate so deeply in the Northeast. There are no fancy facilities out there, no built-in advantages. Every medal earned by an athlete from these hills carries the weight of distance, sacrifice, and sheer stubbornness to succeed.
Speaking about her achievement, Mane didn’t reach for hollow phrases. She was honest and grounded, saying that success is built through countless hours of training, discipline, hard work and sacrifice — and that none of it is possible without the unwavering support of coaches and family. She also took a moment to acknowledge coach Meitei specifically, thanking him for his patience and his belief in her — the kind of acknowledgment that says as much about the person as the performance itself.
There is something quietly significant about what Mane represents right now. Arunachal Pradesh has always had sporting talent — raw, real and deeply rooted. But opportunities to train well, compete consistently, and get noticed have not always kept pace with that talent. The fact that a girl from Shi Yomi district is winning gold at an inter-state junior championship is proof that this is slowly, meaningfully changing.
A gold in the 800m. A silver in the 1500m. Two medals, one stage, one athlete.
Yanu Mane isn’t just adding milestones to her own career — she’s showing the next generation of young runners from Arunachal that the podium is not someone else’s destination. It’s theirs too. And they can run there.
