16-year-old national-level basketball player, another teen killed in court accidents in Haryana | Chandigarh News

CCTV footage from Lakhan Majra shows Hardik reaching for the hoop, attempting to hang from it, when the pole suddenly gave away and crushed him. His cousin Khadak Singh recalled that Hardik was rushed to a hospital within 20 minutes but could not be saved.

Expressing anger, he said, “This is not a death but a murder.” He explained that two years ago, Rs 11 lakh had been sanctioned from the Member of Parliament quota for sports infrastructure, and although a tender was issued two months ago, no work was carried out despite repeated reminders to the department.

Another sportsperson, Rohit Rathee, echoed these concerns. He noted that officials had inspected the site after the tender was issued but failed to act, even though the pole was visibly weak. He added that Hardik had been selected for the upcoming national basketball games, and more than 20 young athletes regularly train at the Lakhan Majra stadium, which falls under the panchayat department.

The Director General of Haryana Sports Department described the incidents as serious and unfortunate, acknowledging that two promising athletes had died due to dilapidated equipment.

In an official communication on Wednesday, he instructed that “If there are dilapidated sports infrastructure at the sports complexes, the use of the same should be stopped for the sportspersons. These instruments should be immediately repaired with the funds available with the District Sports Council”.

Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam announced that the Rohtak district sports officer has been suspended and that activities at the sports nursery have been halted. He assured that strict action will follow after a high-level inquiry, stating that measures will be taken to ensure such tragedies are not repeated.

“It’s a tragic incident. Our department, as well as I, has personal grief that we have lost a young player. But whoever is found guilty, there will be action against them. The village panchayat has been running the sports nursery, and the panchayat maintains the nursery.

We try to fulfil whatever demand we get for sports equipment and support them,” Gautam told the media during a sports event at Ambala.

A sports department official said on the condition of anonymity that Gautam has called a meeting of all district sports officers to assess the infrastructure as well as other lapses, if any, in the stadiums as well as sports nurseries at Panchkula on November 28.

Hardik dreamt about playing for India

Hardik’s father Sandeep Rathee said his son had dreams about playing for India. A three-time junior U14 nationals medallist, Hardik missed the chance to be in the Indian U-16 team a couple of times in the past, but his father was hopeful that his son could have played for India sooner.

“Hardik had competed in three U-14 junior nationals as well trained in camps at the BFI academy at ITM, Gwalior, too. He would often talk about playing for India one day and had also come closer to making it to the Indian U-16 team earlier. Since our village sees the presence of a lot of basketball players, the sports nursery was allotted here, and the village panchayat was running the nursery here.

Hardik Rathee with father Sandeep Rathee. (Source: Special Arrangement)

“After repeated requests, basketball equipment, including the poles, was not provided. As a father, nothing can be more tragic than seeing his son suffer in the same way in the court, which he worshipped like a temple. His younger brother, Pratik, too is a national-level player and has been practising for the school nationals in December. But how should I convince my wife Nirmala to send Pratik for training at the same ground? We only urge the Government to provide the right infrastructure and support so that no other family could suffer such a loss,” he told The Indian Express.

“It was a tragic incident that could have been avoided had proper infrastructure been in place. Hardik was passionate about basketball and had come home after attending a national U-16 camp at the Basketball Federation of India academy in Gwalior. He had played for Haryana in various junior nationals in Kangra, Puducherry, and Hyderabad in recent years and dreamt of playing for India one day at the junior as well as at the senior level,” Ombir, a cousin of Hardik Rathee, told The Indian Express.

“A lot of players pursue basketball, hockey and kabaddi here at Lakhan Majra, and there are more than four basketball grounds in the village. But all of them are in dilapidated condition. Villagers and members of the block samiti have raised this issue multiple times, but to no avail. The death of a young talent like Hardik is not a loss for the village but for Haryana as well as India. Such incidents can be avoided so that youngsters don’t see such infrastructure as a hurdle in their dreams as well as a threat to their lives,” said Sandeep, a member of the panchayat samiti in Lakhan Majra.

Talking to The Indian Express, Aman’s father Suresh Kumar said that all his family wanted was to see him play for Haryana and India one day. “I am at a loss of words after the loss of my son,” he said.

“Aman won a gold and two silver medals in inter-school competitions at Rama Bharti School, Bahadurgarh, last week only and wanted to play at the state level after this performance. He was training alone on Sunday when the basketball pole fell on him, and he suffered injuries to his stomach and back. We took him from Civil Hospital to PGIMS, Rohtak, where there was much delay in the treatment before he was put on a ventilator,” said Rohit Kumar, a cousin of Aman.

“On Monday, they told us that Aman is no more. If there had been no delay on Sunday at PGIMS Rohtak, Aman could have been saved. In 2022, there was another incident at the same stadium when the basketball pole fell on a trainee and he died. We urge the Government to provide proper sports infrastructure. There should be regular audits of sports infrastructure so that such losses don’t happen in future,” he added.

Deaths caused by negligence: Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “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. Similarly, Aman, just 15 years old, was also a promising player. The untimely deaths of these two young players have shocked the entire state.”

He added, “The Congress demands an impartial, high-level investigation into this matter and strict action against the culprits. An FIR should be filed against those responsible for the negligence, and action should be taken to teach the entire system a lesson. Additionally, the families of both deceased players should be immediately given government jobs and adequate financial assistance.”

The former CM stated that MP Deepender Hooda had donated Rs 12.3 lakh and then Rs 6.2 lakh for the Lakhan Majra ground, but all the money remained on paper, with nothing happening on the ground.

“Haryana’s sports policy has completely stalled since the BJP Government came to power. There is no new sports policy, no coaching system, no talent hunt programme, and no infrastructure maintenance. The condition of stadiums in places like Charkhi Dadri, Ambala, Sirsa, Kurukshetra, and others, including the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex in Rohtak, is deteriorating,” he pointed out.

“During the Congress Government, we appointed medal-winning athletes to high-ranking positions like DSP. But today’s Government is neither providing jobs nor incentives to athletes. They make big promises during elections, but once in power, nothing happens. There are no teachers in schools, no police in police stations, and no staff in offices,” Hooda added.

He emphasised that despite being a small state, Haryana has consistently won the most medals in the Olympics and Paralympics. “This was the result of the Congress’s far-sighted sports policy, which made Haryana a hub for sports in the country and the world. But today, the BJP Government pays no attention to sports.”