National-level athlete sells fruit salad to fund training

Representative image: Pexels/Pixabay

Recently, a picture of a young woman standing behind a small roadside kiosk and selling fruit went viral. It isn’t that she was caught doing something unusual. The picture went viral because the woman in question is a national athlete, who lives in conditions of abject poverty and has to sell fruits to sustain herself.

Diana Ningombam, a national-level sportsperson from Manipur, has represented India in several Taekwondo tournaments. In fact, she will soon be taking part in an international martial art event in Hong Kong.

The young taekwondo talent is now barely inches away from seeing her dreams come true, her only impediment being her financial constraints, reported News 18.

Not one to become a burden to her mechanic father, two elder siblings, or mother who works in the Ema market - one of the largest markets run by women in the country; Diana decided to carve her own fate and fight this fight alone. So, instead of waiting for government support, she set up a roadside fruit salad stall and began her journey to gather the funds to keep her training going.

Evidently, Diana represents the true spirit of Manipur, which even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dubbed as the powerhouse of sports and Olympic prospects in India.

She, along with her elder sister, sets up her stall as early as five in the morning. Her day begins at 3 am. She is flanked by customers within minutes of setting up her wares in Kangla Pat in Imphal, where a fresh bowl of fruits sells for just Rs 20. The athlete makes a profit of around Rs 300 to 400 per day.

Once done with wearing a fruit seller’s hat, Diana devotes time to her athletic pursuits. All her earnings from the fruit stall goes into preparing for the upcoming international tournament.

International Taekwondo player Diana Ningombam from Manipur is fundraising, for her upcoming International Tournament, through selling fruit salads every morning from 4 am to 8 am. @Ra_THORe sir pls take necessary action pic.twitter.com/7WBOfVczWG

— Chowkidar Shankar Reddy (@mail2gsreddy) April 28, 2019

— Chowkidar Shankar Reddy (@mail2gsreddy) April 28, 2019

This is the fate of athelete who is not from popular games in India. International Taekwondo player Diana Ningombam from Manipur is fundraising for her upcoming International Tournament by selling fruit salad every morning from 4 am to 8 am. (Photo Credit-Thompson L) pic.twitter.com/aJab19lVEe

Story continues below Advertisement

Remove Ad

— Chowkidar Naorem Mohen (@laimacha) April 27, 2019

I am with Diana Ningombam now at Kangla park. She is busy preparing fruit salads to the passerby. Let us support her. pic.twitter.com/j8XsT6coUm

— Chowkidar Naorem Mohen (@laimacha) April 28, 2019

In the true spirit of a fighter, Diana believes “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”. She has been learning Taekwondo for 13 years and has won accolades for the country both at the national and the international level.