Soccer tragedy: Delay in medical care claims footballers life

Despite all the claims of football administration turnng professional in the country,those at the grassroots clearly havent learnt their lessons

Despite all the claims of football administration turnng professional in the country,those at the grassroots clearly havent learnt their lessons as far infrastruture and medical aid to players is concerned. The apathy led to yet another fatality on the pitch on Sunday.

Twenty seven-year-old Mahesh Thapa died while being shunted from one hospital to another after getting injured during a match. Thapa,playing for the Raikatpara Sports Association against Bhanu Nagar team at the Netaji Vidyapith Ground on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri,was hit on the chest after colliding with the opposition goalkeeper on eight minutes.

With no ambulance available at the ground,the player had to be rushed to the Jalpaiguri Sadar Hospital on a motorcycle. However,the hospital refused admission claiming they had no free beds in the intensive care unit (ICU). Thapa was then taken to a private nursing home,Marina,but was turned away there as well. Thapa finally succumbed while being taken to a third hospital and was taken back to Sadar Hospital,where he was declared dead.

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Son of a retired police officer,Thapa was a popular player in Jalpaiguri. After playing a couple of seasons for Netaji Modern and JYCC,he joined Raikatpara. While the locals blamed organisers for the incident,officials claimed the player was,in fact,rushed in an ambulance soon after the incident. There was no delay in taking the player to the hospital. There were no beds in the (first two) hospitals and we were told to wait but the condition of the player was such that we could not afford to delay, District Sports Association joint secretary Bhola Mondal said.

The incident comes barely four months after a Bangalore player died on field due to cardiac arrest. In March,first division player D Venkatesh collapsed on the field during a local league match and could not be revived due to lack of basic medical facilities and qualified medical personnel at the venue. In 2004,Dempo Sports Clubs Brazilian striker Cristiano Junior died on the field after he collided with Mohun Bagan goalie Subrata Paul.

Things,it appears,have not changed in almost a decade.