From Taekwondo Gold to the Farm: A Young Man’s Second Fight for a Living

Imphal: At 26, Moirangthem Sanahal has already fought—and won—on a national sporting stage. A gold medallist in Taekwondo, he was offered an opportunity to join the Indian Army on five occasions because of his sporting achievements. Yet today, his most important battles are being fought not in a ring, but on a farm in Imphal West district. By following and adapting the integrated farming practices taught to him by his mother, Sanahal now earns around ₹30,000 a month from the farm. For him, agriculture is more than a means of livelihood. It has become an alternative to the white-collar jobs that many young people aspire to.

Image: Sanahal, a Taekwondo farmer, leading by example

Image: Sanahal, a distinguished taekwondo player with his souviers

“There are many ways to achieve economic development through self-employment rather than depending only on white-collar jobs,” Sanahal said.

His connection with farming began at home. From childhood, he watched his father, Moirangthem Jiban Singh, and mother, Moirangthem Ongbi Sakhi Devi, work on their farm from early morning until late evening. Agriculture had been the family’s occupation for years. Their farm, spread over about two acres at Lamshang Awang Leikai, around seven kilometres west of Imphal, became the place where Sanahal eventually began looking for his own future.

He joined his family in running the integrated farm in 2019, starting with modest financial support from his parents. His interest was also fuelled by what he learnt from farmer Lairenmamit through YouTube. He began with dragon fruits, followed by lemon and banana cultivation. Floriculture, including marigold, was added later. He then diversified further, bringing poultry into the farm with 50 ducklings and 30 chicks.

The beginning was not particularly promising in financial terms. Sanahal could earn only around ₹10,000 a month. But instead of spending the money on other things, he put it back into the farm.

That habit of reinvesting gradually helped the enterprise grow.

Today, he says the produce from the farm is in demand, and he has not faced a major problem finding a market. His monthly income has risen to around ₹30,000. The journey, however, has not been easy. Sanahal says serious financial difficulties in the family have prevented him from expanding the farm to the scale he wants. The prolonged illnesses and deaths of his mother and grandmother placed an additional burden on the family’s already fragile finances.

Image: The Marigold Farm

Image: Sanahal's dragonfruit farm

Image: Sanahal's duck farm

He has approached different banks several times seeking loans to expand the farm, but so far, none has been sanctioned.

Yet the absence of institutional financial support has not made him abandon the idea.He continues to work on the farm every day, sometimes even at night, determined to build his livelihood with his own hands.

For someone who had once imagined a different future, the decision is significant.Sanahal’s sporting record could have taken him in another direction. A national-level Taekwondo gold medallist, he received five offers to join the Indian Army on the strength of his sporting achievements. But, he said, he did not take up the opportunities because of opposition from his family.

He later applied for state government jobs several times, again following his family’s advice, but was not selected.Eventually, he decided that instead of continuing to wait for a government or white-collar job, he would concentrate on farming.He has not, however, turned his back on Taekwondo. Sanahal says he wants to continue guiding young Taekwondo aspirants and help them pursue the goals he once pursued himself.

For his father, Jiban Singh, the farm represents something larger than the income it generates.He believes agriculture, floriculture and integrated farming can provide young people with a comfortable livelihood if they are willing to work seriously.

“Everybody can live comfortably through activities such as integrated farming, floriculture and agriculture instead of only looking for white-collar jobs,” Jiban said. He added that he would always be willing to support those who wanted to take up farming.

Jiban himself knows both the possibilities and the uncertainties of agricultural life.There was a time when the family’s farming activities were doing well and there were no major health problems at home. He had agricultural machinery, including a paddy thresher, a tractor used for ploughing and a harvesting machine.But the family’s fortunes changed as illness began to consume both its resources and its strength.

Jiban says nearly ₹1 crore was spent on the treatment of his mother and wife. His mother died first, followed by his wife a few years later. The financial strain of prolonged treatment left the family in a difficult position. Some of the agricultural machinery had to be sold, while other arrangements were made on a shared-benefit basis.

Image: Contained father of Sanahal

Image: Sanahal talking to Waari Singbul

For a long period, Jiban says, he saw little hope for the future. It was against this backdrop that his son began to take a more active role in the family farm.

Today, father and son work together.

There is no large investment behind the enterprise, nor has there been substantial institutional assistance. What they have is the land, the experience accumulated by the older generation, and Sanahal’s willingness to experiment with different forms of cultivation and livestock.

The ₹30,000 that Sanahal earns each month may not appear large by urban standards. But in a family that has endured years of illness, financial hardship and loss, it represents something more important than a monthly figure. It represents a measure of independence.

Sanahal’s story also points to a question that is increasingly relevant to rural Manipur: whether farming can be made attractive to a generation that has long associated economic security with government service or salaried employment. His own answer is being worked out, quite literally, in the soil.

The Taekwondo medals remain part of his past. The government job he once hoped for never came. The Army offers he turned down belong to another possible life. For now, his future is growing among dragon fruit plants, lemon and banana trees, marigolds, ducks and chickens. And on this farm, Sanahal appears to have found a different kind of victory—not one awarded with a medal, but one measured by the ability to stand on his own feet.

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