Chinglensana Singh's India career on hold owing to strife in Manipur

Hyderabad FC and India centre-back Chinglensana Singh has had to put his national career on hold to be with his family in strife-torn Manipur. Over two months ago, he was informed by his tearful mother over the phone that their ancestral house was being attacked.

Chinglensana has now made sure that he spends most of his time with his family in Churachandpur, which has been the epicenter of the ongoing troubles in Manipur.

Around two months ago, Chinglensana had just returned to the dressing room after Hyderabad FC were sent packing by ATK Mohun Bagan in the AFC Cup Playoff game in Kozhikode. When he switched his cellphone on, he was blasted with a flurry of missed calls and text messages.

Violent clashes had broken out earlier in the day in Manipur on the back of a High Court order which had asked for a change to be made in the list of the Scheduled Tribes list in the state.

In an interview with Sportstar, Sana said:

“When I switched on my phone after the game, there were a lot of missed calls and messages from home in Churachandpur. The moment I got back to my mom on the phone, she was crying. She said there were attacks on the houses and that their lives were under threat."

He added:

"I was in shock and I didn’t know how to react. It was very scary. I thought I will lose all of them. There were gunshots, attacks, and burning of houses in the neighbourhood close by, where we reside, and the houses were burnt.”

Chinglensana stayed up all night, hoping and praying for his family's safety, and staying with them on the other end of the line. He said:

“I was on the line throughout the night and we all didn’t sleep. The next morning, my mom told me that there was the Army to vacate them from there in trucks. People from 300 houses were taken to relief camps in Moirang and were staying there. I went home after two-three days and was able to be with them.”

Chinglensana Singh's friend Salam Ranjan Singh turned saviour

Fortunately, Chinglensana Singh's family of 12 emerged unscathed from the riots but their ancestral house was burnt down, along with everything that the family had owned and saved for decades.

Chinglensana's investments and assets bore the brunt of the mob fury too. A football turf that he had set up for the children of the neighbourhood was also destroyed.

Luckily, fellow footballer Salam Ranjan Singh, who had a newly constructed house in the neighbouring Bishnupur district, offered to let them stay. That is where Chinglensana and his family have been living for the last two months.

“We were looking for a place to rent, but it’s very difficult to find houses for rent. Luckily, my friend (Salam Ranjan) said that he had built a new house and that it is vacant. So our family shifted here. I now have to build a new house somewhere.”

AIFF have shown their full support towards Chinglensana Singh

Chinglensana's football career, quite naturally, has been on hold. Although the riots took place over the off-season for his club Hyderabad FC, he was called up by India for a national camp ahead of the Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championships.

He chose not to attend the camp as he had to be with his family during this time of distress. He explained:

“I couldn’t leave my family behind to go to the camp. It would have been very difficult. I had to be here physically and be the strength for them and not by sitting on the phone. And mentally, I would have been disturbed as well. If you go to play for the country, you have to be 110 percent. I had to look after them and be there for them."

He added:

“I spoke to coach Igor Stimac. He understood the situation perfectly and supported me. He told me family was important. And Shaji [Prabhakaran] sir also said the AIFF will support me and said they would do everything possible for me to come out of this stronger. They assured me that I have their support and allowed me to pull out of the camp.”

All that Chinglensana is looking forward to now is the resumption of normal life. He hopes that the government can come to Manipur's rescue and help people reconstruct their lives because a lot of damage has been done already.

“I hope the Government takes steps regarding that for us all to coexist peacefully. That is the best solution because we need them, they need us. Manipur is such that there are a lot of tribes. As a normal human being from the state, my belief is that we can coexist together peacefully and, as usual, we can happily live together. Sooner than later because a lot of people are struggling.”

It makes one immensely sad to see the plight of Chinglensana Singh and his family, who are part of the displaced population of Manipur in recent times.

Chinglensana Singh will surely come out of this ordeal stronger than before and put his best foot forward for both club and country.