Mizo table tennis star Lalrin Puia Lalchhuankima shines again after spending 4 years behind bars

The Narcotics Control Bureau had arrested Lalrin in December 2017 at the Mumbai airport for allegedly possessing 3.9 kg of methaqualone. After spending four years in jail, a court acquitted him of all charges in 2022

MUMBAI: After spending four years in jail as an undertrial in a Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) case and then being acquitted of all charges in 2022, life came full circle for Lalrin Puia Lalchhuankima last week. The 26-year-old table tennis player won a silver medal in the hardbat doubles category at the US Open Championships in Las Vegas.

Mizo table tennis star Lalrin Puia Lalchhuankima shines again after spending 4 years behind bars

Acting on a tip-off, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested Lalrin, a resident of Aizwal, in December 2017 at the Mumbai airport for allegedly possessing 3.9 kg of methaqualone, a banned psychotropic substance that was estimated to be worth ₹60 lakh in the illicit drug market. A forensic laboratory had found traces of heroin, acetyl codeine and mono acetyl morphine in the seized contraband.

Lalrin, a promising paddler at the time who had represented India at the South Asian Junior Singles Championship, denied any wrongdoing, saying he was a victim of a drug smuggling racket. After spending four years in Taloja Central Jail, the Supreme Court expedited his case in 2020. Two years later, a special NDPS court acquitted him of all charges.

Despite losing five years of his life and career to the case, Lalrin never gave up on his table tennis dreams. In April this year, he joined the India Community Centre in Milpitas, California, and participated in the US Open Championships in the hardbat doubles category, with partner Ishaan Hingorani. The duo went all the way to the final before losing to a local pair.

“I am on top of the world,” said Lalrin. “It was a very tough journey, from exercising in Taloja prison using water bottles as dumbbells in a small barrack to reaching the United States. I had always believed in myself and, most importantly, others like the Mizoram Table Tennis Association also believed in me,” he said.

At the time of his arrest, NCB officials claimed that they had specific information about a bag containing drugs that was being carried by the table tennis player. However, his acquittal order stated that there was a discrepancy between the flight number mentioned in the NCB’s charge sheet and a photocopy of the baggage tag attached to the charge sheet, thus throwing into question the very ownership of the bag—and drugs.

“We always believed in him and his innocence,” said Lalhmingliana Colney, senior vice president of the Mizoram Table Tennis Association. “He is a good player and had won several international medals before his arrest. He has won an international medal again after 13 years. We gave him the best advocates and got him acquitted. He is very hardworking and very sincere towards the game. We are happy and proud of him.”

Lalrin is the eldest of four children born to Lalchhuankima, a class 4 Mizoram government employee and Loisi, a homemaker. Before his arrest, he had played table tennis at the district and national level. He began playing at a young age and was encouraged by his father, who was also a district-level table tennis player.

In 2015, when he was 17, Lalrin won the youth boy’s title at the Youth National Table Tennis Championships held in Dharmashala. The previous year, he represented India at the South Asian Junior Singles Championship held in Islamabad, Pakistan.