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The Price of Negligence: Promising young athlete sustains career-threatening injury at Sports College
Vinit Kumar, a 16-year-old 9th-grade student at the Sports College, endured a broken spine and neck during a routine practice session on Wednesday morning.
LUCKNOW A young athlete, studying at the state government-run Guru Gobind Singh Sports College in Lucknow, suffered a career-threatening injury due to an alleged lapse in supervision by his coach on the campus.
Vinit Kumar, a 16-year-old 9th-grade student at the Sports College, endured a broken spine and neck during a routine practice session on Wednesday morning. This incident occurred while he was using a high jump mat, and the coach was purportedly absent during the training. Vineet’s injury could potentially jeopardise his promising sporting career.
He had previously clinched a gold medal with a record-breaking performance in the under-14 category at last year’s State Schools Athletics Championships. Following the incident, he was promptly rushed to a nearby hospital, subsequently referred to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (SGPGI), where surgery was conducted on Thursday. His condition is reported to be stable.
“Following the surgery,” Vineet’s father, a small-scale farmer named Lalchand from Kunda (Pratapgarh), stated on Thursday, “the doctors have assured us of his stable condition. He’s a 100-meter sprinter, and it’s perplexing how he suffered such a severe injury. I’ve been informed that Vineet was attempting the high jump mat on his own.”
However, a fellow athlete of Vineet’s suggested that this incident might have been avoided if the coach had been present to oversee the trainees’ activities within the athletics arena. Speaking anonymously, the athlete questioned, “How could a sprinter attempt a high jump on the mat without a specialist’s guidance? This incident might have been prevented with proper supervision.”
The athlete further expressed concerns about the college’s inadequate monitoring of the athletes and the lack of oversight in the hostel. “There’s insufficient vigilance in the college campus, and even the hostel warden rarely fulfills his duties effectively,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the college’s athletics coach, Shailendra Pratap, acknowledged that after concluding the regular training schedule, he returned to his room. He clarified that some athletes, including Vineet, were engaging in independent training at that time and absolved himself of responsibility.
“Our morning session runs from 5.45 to 7.45 am, and after completing the schedule, I returned to my room. Some athletes, including Vineet, continued their training. It was an unfortunate accident, and I cannot be held accountable,” he maintained.
Additionally, coach Shailendra suggested that Vineet, a highly talented athlete, might have been undertaking extra training. He expressed his confusion about why Vineet chose to experiment with the long jump, asserting that there were no issues with the jumping mat. “I believe Vineet was pushing himself harder in preparation for representing the sports college in the upcoming state school athletics championships,” he added.
This incident raises concerns about the history of similar incidents involving athletes at the Lucknow sports college. A few years ago, a young resident of the cricket hostel was found deceased in the college’s swimming pool, even though it was officially closed. The case was registered with Gudamba Police Station, but the circumstances surrounding the death remain shrouded in mystery.
