Star footballer recalls horror of Manipur violence

Chingelensana, a regular for Hyderabad FC since 2020 and lifted the ISL trophy with the Nizams in the 2021-22 season, vividly recalls the horrific events of May 3 when ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur

Hyderabad: It was on the fateful day of May 3 when Chinglensana Singh Konsham’s life took an unexpected turn. He had his head in the game when his team, Hyderabad FC, was up against the Mohun Bagan Super Giants in the AFC Cup playoff in Kozhikode, Kerala.

His team lost on penalties but when he returned from the match, fear gripped his gut as violence rocked his home State Manipur. “My family was hiding in the house to save themselves from the attacks. I thought I’d lose them all,” recounts the 27-year-old Meitei, who hails from Churachanpur district.

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Manipur produces top athletes across an array of sports and one of them is footballer Konsham, who is a centre-back in the Indian national team and plays the Indian Super League for Hyderabad FC.

Chingelensana, a regular for Hyderabad FC since 2020 and lifted the ISL trophy with the Nizams in the 2021-22 season, vividly recalls the horrific events of May 3 when ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur. “When I returned from the game, I saw many missed calls and messages on my phone. When I got in touch with my mother, I was devastated to know about the attacks. My family was in danger,” he said.

Soon after, Chingelensana took a sabbatical from football and rushed back to Manipur to be with his family, who was later shifted by the Indian Army from Churachandpur to a relief camp in Moirang district.

Chinglensana, who is now back in the field, represented the country in the recently held Asian Games, where the team qualified for the knockout stage for the first time in 13 years. The footballer wants to start afresh, by putting in more energy and focus into football. He wants to bail his family out of the tough situation. “We plan to rebuild our house in another place as we are not able to return to Churachandpur,” he says.

However, he is disheartened to see the situation not getting any better anytime soon in Manipur and has urged the government to find a solution to restore peace and harmony in the State. “Conflict has to stop as people are suffering and nobody is going to win from these clashes. The Centre and Manipur government need to find solutions where they can bring normalcy and peace,” he says. “Months have passed and still there has been no progress in attaining normalcy,” he says.

In March, India’s senior national team lifted the Tri-Nation International Football Tournament in front of a packed crowd at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal, Manipur, beating Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in the final. Chinglensana was part of the winning team but he had no idea that two months after lifting a trophy in front of his home crowd, he would be homeless. “My family has lost everything that we earned throughout our lives. Our house has been torched and my football ground ruined,” he says.

If a footballer who dons the Indian jersey and represents the nation on the international stage has to go through such hardship and is unsure whether his State will be a peaceful place again, what must have been the situation of the common people?