Jeakson Singh Reveals Why He Raised Manipur Flag After SAFF Championship Win

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Indian midfielder Jeakson Singh responded in the early hours of Wednesday (July 5) after he received backlash from some sections of the fans for his celebration with a flag during the SAFF Championship 2023 medal ceremony.

India defeated Kuwait 5-4 in a shootout in the final on Tuesday (July 4) night at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, where the Blue Tigers lifted their 9th SAFF Championship title. And during the celebrations, Jeakson sporting a multi-colored flag caught a lot of attention.

The midfielder had clarified that flag he wore is the Manipur flag and sported it to call for peace in his state, which has been in turmoil since May with a lot of violence.

"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 two months now and still fight is going on," he told ESPN. But, still some fans questioned his use of the flag, while some backed the midfielder.

As he continued to receive more criticism, the midfielder took to social media to clarify his use of the flag in the celebration and said he never intended to hurt the sentiments of anyone, dedicating the win "to all the Indians."

"Dear Fans, 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 tonight is dedicated to all the Indians," Jeakson tweeted.

"I hope that peace returns to my home state of Manipur. Thank you to the fans for coming out and supporting the team tonight!" he posted in another tweet with hash tags of Save Manipur as well as Peace and Love.

There has been violence in Manipur for over two months now, with over 120 people killed, and more than 300 injured, while thousands have been displaced. The cause for the tensions to increase is believed to be the ethnic clash between the Meitei community and the Kukis.