Chandigarh, Nov 26 (PTI) A junior national level basketball player and another teen died in eerily similar accidents during practice in Haryana after the basketball hoop’s iron pole fell on them, police said on Wednesday as the twin tragedies put a spotlight on crumbling sports infrastructure in the state.
While 16-year-old Hardik Rathi, who had taken part in the national sub-junior basketball championship, died in Rohtak on Tuesday, Aman, one year younger, breathed his last on Monday.
The incidents, which came to light on Wednesday, led to outrage with opposition parties slamming the BJP-led state government and anguished family members joining them in blaming the establishment for dilapidated sports infrastructure.
Hardik’s death was captured in vivid detail on CCTV cameras. The footage showed the youngster reaching for the hoop. As soon as he attempts to hang from it, the pole collapses and crushes him under it.
The rods supporting the basketball pole were rusted, local players at the Lakhan Majra village who practice with him told reporters. They rushed Hardik to a hospital where he died, SHO Samarjeet Singh said.
Khadak Singh, Hardik’s cousin, said the condition of the iron pole had been brought to the notice of the officials on multiple occasions but nothing was done to fix it.
Holding the sports department and the government responsible for his brother’s death, which he alleged was not a death but murder, Khadak Singh told reporters that Hardik never missed any competition, be it U-14 or U-17. It was his dream to lead the Indian basketball team one day.
“Hardik trained twice a day. As soon as he tried to touch the hoop on Tuesday morning, it got uprooted and fell on his chest, leading to internal bleeding, which proved fatal, he said.
Haryana Development and Panchayat Minister Krishan Lal Panwar said, “Haryana Olympic Association will write to sports and education departments to carry out inspection of the sports equipment, infrastructure and immediately replace the damaged one.” Minister of State for Sports Gaurav Gautam told reporters in Ambala that a high-level probe will be held and anyone found responsible for the sad and unfortunate incident will face action.
“We have suspended the district sports officer,” he said when asked about Hardik’s death.
“As per information, it was a sports nursery under the panchayat and the activities there have been halted for now,” Gautam said.
He said the tragedy is a profound shock to the entire sports world.
The incident is unacceptable at any level, he added.
In the wake of the two incidents, the minister has also called a meeting of district sports officials on November 28.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini told reporters here Wednesday morning that he will first gather all the details before commenting on the matter.
Officials in Rohtak and Bahadurgarh said the circumstances leading to the collapse of the iron poles in both incidents, including the condition of the equipment, are being probed.
On Sunday, Aman went to the basketball court in the premises of a government school for practice. He was critically injured after the iron pole fell on him and died at PGIMS Rohtak during treatment on Monday night, SHO (City) Dinkar Yadav said.
“We came to know that the pole was not in good shape and some children had climbed it and it fell,” said Jhajjar District Sports Officer Satender Kumar.
Suresh, Aman’s father, who was inconsable, told reporters that his son could have been saved, but rued the apathetic attitude of the hospital authorities where he was referred.
From Civil hospital in Bahadurgarh, he was referred to PGIMS hospital Rohtak, we were asked to wait and move around from one place to another, he claimed.
Suresh said they kept pleading with the hospital staff to immediately attend to the teenager, “but treatment did not begin right away and in the process critical time was lost. Even the admission time of the patient entered in his card was mentioned three hours more after we had entered the hospital, and the facts can be verified from the hospital’s CCTV record”.
He said recently his son had won a silver and two gold medals in school games.
“It was Sunday and we were expecting some guests and I told my son to stay back, but fate had something else in store and he insisted that he will be back soon from the practice. But he never returned,” said Suresh.
Meanwhile, Khadak Singh claimed that Congress MP Deepender Hooda got two grounds built in the village in Rohtak, and in 2023 sanctioned Rs 11 lakh from his MPLADS funds but the officials concerned sat over it and did not repair the basketball pole.
A tender was issued two months ago, but no work was carried out, he said.
Those who witnessed Hardik’s accident were traumatised.
“We were practicing and Hardik was playing with us. When we took a short break, he continued his practice, said Rohit, a budding basketball player.
Gulab Singh, Hardik’s grandfather, said that it was the teenager’s dream to become captain of the national team one day.
According to Hardik’s coach, he had won medals in national-level basketball competitions, including the 47th Sub-Junior National Championship in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra, the 49th Sub-Junior National Championship in Hyderabad and the 39th Youth National Championship in Puducherry and was to take part in another national event.
Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Congress demands an impartial, high-level investigation into this matter and strict action against the “culprits”.
He alleged that the BJP government in Haryana is treating sports and athletes like enemies.
“This is why two promising young players Hardik and Aman tragically died when a dilapidated basketball poles collapsed,” the former chief minister said in a statement.
“This is not a simple accident or a normal death, but a death caused by sheer government negligence. Hardik was a national-level player with a bright future, having already signed with a club in the United States,” Hooda said.
Similarly, Aman, just 15 years old, was also a promising player.
The untimely deaths of these two young players have shocked the entire state,” Bhupinder Hooda said.
An FIR should be filed against those responsible for the negligence, and action should be taken to teach the entire system a lesson, he said.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala termed Hardik’s death a murder by the system, and not an accident.
Deepender Hooda alleged that sports equipment and infrastructure in stadiums are lying in a dilapidated condition. The way two lives have been lost, it is no less than criminal negligence for which the government is responsible, he said.
Haryana is known as India’s sporting powerhouse. Its players bring in a rich haul of medals at international tournaments. PTI SUN VSD ZMN
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