India, Oct. 30 -- For 16-year-old twins Sura and Surjit Singh Rajkumar, the journey to Guwahati began with something neither had experienced before: a flight.

Growing up in Ishok village in Manipur's Bishnupur district, the brothers had spent much of their childhood on volleyball courts, watching village seniors play and dreaming of one day representing India. Their first flight, however, came with considerable apprehension.

Their families were worried about sending them away, particularly against the backdrop of the ethnic violence that has gripped Manipur for more than three years.

When the boys eventually returned, they did so as champions of the Brahmaputra Volleyball League (BVL) Interstate Championship. The Manipur boys' team, re...