ROHTAK: In a span of 48 hours, two teenage basketball players died in horrific accidents in Haryana’s Rohtak and Bahadurgarh after hoop poles collapsed on them, turning courts into crime scenes and throwing aharsh spotlight on Haryana’s sports infrastructure and governance. District sports officer Anoop Singh has been suspended.A heart-wrenching CCTV video captured the death of 16-year-old schoolboy Hardik Rathi — a fivetime state player, selected for the U-17 School Nationals in Chhattisgarh — in Lakhan Majra, near Rohtak, on Tuesday. In the 9-second clip, he runs in from the three-point line, simulates a dunk, and grabs the hoop for a second — acommon habit with players. Even in the grainy footage, one can see the horror in his eyes when the 750kg pole snaps, takes him down, and crushes his ribs.
Tragedy didn’t come without warning, say sportspersons
Other players sprinted to Hardik’s aid and took him to hospital where he was declared ‘brought dead’. At Lakhan Majra, there is anguish & anger over the “avoidable tragedy”. Just two days earlier, there was an ominous warning when 15-year-old Aman, a Class 10 student, died in similar fashion at Bahadurgarh’s Shaheed Brigadier Hoshiar Singh stadium, some 65km from Lakhan Majra.Aman was practising on Sunday afternoon when a corroded basketball pole gave way & crashed onto his abdomen, causing severe internal injuries. The pole had allegedly been in a dilapidated condition for a long time. He was taken to the civil hospital and then to PGI-Rohtak. His family alleged that delay and negligence in treatment worsened his condition. The boy died on Monday night and his last rites were performed on Tuesday evening — when Lakhan Majra was mourning Hardik.Hardik had won a silver at the 47th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship in Kangra, a bronze at the 49th Sub-Junior Nationals in Hyderabad and another bronze at the 39th Youth National Championship in Puducherry.Villagers and sportspersons point out the tragedy did not come without warnings. Four years ago, then Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda had sanctioned Rs 11 lakh from his MPLAD fund to the Lakhan Majra panchayat for the stadium but maintenance wasn’t carried out as the tender formalities were stuck for years. A delegation met CM Nayab Saini about three months ago on this, and the tender was finally floated last week —too late for Hardik.The Lakhan Majra stadium is under the village panchayat, and a sports nursery has been running on the basketball court for a long time. After Hardik’s death, this nursery has been shut, and a committee has been formed to probe the incident and audit sports equipment. Police have seized the CCTV footage & initiated action under BNS.Shaken by the twin deaths, the Olympic association has announced that no sports event will be held in the state for the next three days. Sports minister Gaurav Gautam has called a high-level meeting on Nov 28 at Panchkula’s Tau Devi Lal Stadium with all district sports officers and senior officials to review accountability lapses, safety protocols and urgent reforms.The sports department has ordered immediate removal of all rusted, old and dangerous equipment across the state. A circular issued by the director general directed all sports officers, Motilal Nehru School of Sports in Rai, and deputy directors across Ambala, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurgaon to carry out urgent inspections and dismantle unsafe structures without delay.The deaths triggered a severe political backlash. Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda accused BJP govt in Haryana of treating sports and athletes “like enemies”. “Govt negligence led to the death of two promising young players. Hardik was a national-level player with a bright future, having already signed with a club in the United States,” he said.
