Freak injury catches KSHA short
Bangalore: Penalty corner specialists are potential goal-getters. But they can injure and maim too. Sameer Baxla of Canara Bank realised that, much to his dismay, as young Rupinderpal Singh of Indian Oil was felled by one of his missiles in the Super Division hockey league at the SAI South Centre on Friday.
What also surfaced in the aftermath was the sheer callousness of the Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA) officials who took their time to assess the damage before swinging into action. The reason: no medical facility or doctor was available at the ground.
Rupinderpal, a drag-flicker himself, was defending a penalty corner against the Bankmen when the mishap occurred.
Rushing from the goal in the direction of the ball, the youngster obviously misread the situation and fell in pain as the ball struck him on the neck just below the right ear.
As the Chandigarh lad lay motionless, the organisers’ lack of preparedness was cruelly laid bare. While there was no stretcher in sight, repeated pleas from Indian Oil’s Prabhjot Singh and Devesh Chauhan too went unheard. Obviously, the officials were too keen on following the rules than springing to the help of a player in distress.
The players then lifted Rupinderpal off the field, traded a few harsh words with the officials before the player was taken away by association official Michael to the hospital.
A couple of X-rays, including one of Rupinder’s chest, revealed nothing untoward and the player returned to SAI, in considerable pain and a swelling that showed the extent of damage a drag-flick can cause.
KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy was a picture of contrition after the incident. “We are responsible for the mess. We should have had a doctor at the ground. We are extremely sorry for what happened. We have decided to foot Rupinderpal’s medical bills. We will also ensure that there is a doctor at the ground from Saturday.”
Krishnamurthy said SAI had expressed its inability to assign a doctor for the event. “However, they have agreed to spare their ambulance. We will be talking to Dr Thomas Chandy of Hosmat, who is a member of KSHA. We will definitely have a doctor at the venue from Saturday. I will also speak to the officials to be more responsive and empathetic to such incidents.”