Two weeks after being hit in his eye by a golf ball during training in Pune, Indian hockey goalkeeper Baljit Singh Dadhwal is eagerly awaiting a response from the sports ministry on his request to get a second opinion at the Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, USA.

Operated at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Baljit’s family want to fly him to the United States for advanced treatment, but don’t know yet if the government will agree to pick up the tab. “We are willing to make all arrangements but we don’t know when we will be able to go. It’s a serious injury and we want to get a second opinion at the earliest,” a family member said.

Doctors at AIIMS say they have no objection to Baljit going abroad. “There is no delay on our part. In fact, we have already sent a ‘Discharge on Request’ note to the sports ministry. Until they respond, we can’t do anything,” said Dr Sudarshan Khokhar, who operated on Baljit. “Psychology plays a big role in recovery. If he feels he can get better treatment abroad, he should definitely go.” Sports minister MS Gill had said after the injury that the government would do everything it could to treat the player.

Adding to Baljit’s frustration is not knowing how soon he will be back on a hockey field. “All I know is that there are some tests being done regularly,” he said. “I spend my days either on the bed or here in the visitors’ room — that is my outing.”

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