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

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.

- Vinay Dalvi

MUMBAI: The 26-year-old table tennis player won a silver medal in the hard-bat doubles category at the US Open Championships in Las Vegas.

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.