When Indian footballer Chinglensana Singh returned from the field to the dressing room on a sultry May evening in Kozhikode, he found his phone littered with ‘messages’ and ‘missed calls’. Worried, Chinglensana immediately called back but got no answer. However, the centre-back from violence-torn Manipur soon realized that he had lost almost everything in the violence that broke out in the state on May 3. As on May 3, the footballer was representing Hyderabad FC in the AFS Cup play-off (Asian continental tournament) against Mohun Bagan in Kozhikode.
Chinglensana said, “It took away everything from us, everything we had earned, everything we had. He said, “I heard the news that our house was burnt and after that the football turf I had made in Churachandpur was burnt.
The footballer said, “I had a big dream of providing a platform to the youth but it was taken away. Luckily my family escaped the violence and were kept in a relief centre. After trying for a while, when Chinglensana finally managed to contact his mother, she was wailing and gunshots could be heard from behind. In such a situation, he immediately decided to return to his home.