‘Really heartbreaking’: Indian footballer from Manipur laments how violence took away everything from him

Violence in the northeastern state of Manipur has taken everything away from Indian footballer Chinglensana Singh. Violence in Manipur broke out on May 3 ruling of the High Court which granted the dominant Meitei community the status of schedule caste and in entitling them to the same economic benefits in jobs and education as the Kukis.

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The centre-back received numerous calls from his family while he was playing for Hyderabad FC in an AFC Cup playoff game against Mohun Bagan in Kozhikode, reported news agency PTI. 

The violence in Manipur has had a devastating impact on the Indian footballer, who has seen his home destroyed, his village ravaged and even his dream of training young children to play football go up in flames. The footballer's family escaped the violence and were subsequently shifted to a relief camp.

Singh who belongs to Churachandpur district's Khumujama Leikai area told PTI, "It has taken away everything from us, everything we earned, everything we had,"

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“I heard the news of our house being torched and then the football turf that I built in Churachandpur was burnt. It was really heartbreaking.” the footballer added.

‘Had a big dream of providing a platform to youngsters’:

Singh said he had a big dream of providing a platform to the talented youngsters of Churachandpur who couldn't afford to enrol in a football school. The 27-year-old noted that he wanted to help the children become professional players who go on to play and become great players for the country. 

"Then this incident happened, so everything is being robbed. But we will try to start again." the footballer added.

At least 150 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts.

(With inputs from PTI)