11-yr-old boy injured in Gurgaon district event may not swim again

Eleven-year-old Sagar Rana, who got injured at district level meet on August 11, faces an uphill task to be able to swim again, doctors said.

Eleven-year-old Sagar Rana, who got injured at district level meet on August 11, faces an uphill task to be able to swim again, doctors said.

Sagar Rana had hit the pool’s bottom as he could not assess the depth due to cloudy water, at a district level swimming tournament held on a swimming pool at CRPF complex of Kadarpur village on August 11-12(HT Photo)

Sagar Rana had hit the pool’s bottom as he could not assess the depth due to cloudy water, at a district level swimming tournament held on a swimming pool at CRPF complex of Kadarpur village on August 11-12. Rana suffered cracks to his spinal cord and was rushed to AIIMS in Delhi, where he was operated on twice.

Doctors said that his spine is being supported by eight screws but his upper body is not responding. “He is taking only liquid and movement is very limited. Doctors have not given us any hope that he will be able to swim again,” Rana’s relative said.

He was shifted to a hospital in Gurgaon from AIIMS.

Dr Arun Bhanot, chief of spine services at Paras hospital, Gurgaon, where Rana is admitted now, said that the chance of Rana swimming again is very low but said that it is not possible to provide a conclusive verdict now.

“His injuries are serious but we need to observe his condition for about eight weeks before reaching any conclusion,” he said.

Sagar’s father, Dinesh Rana, said that the medical team that operated on his son at Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre of AIIMS, New Delhi, had told him that his son would not be able to swim. The medical team at AIIMS, however, could not be reached.

Rana, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in Gurgaon, had participated in the junior national aquatic championships at Bengaluru in June and was aiming to make it big in swimming.

Two other participants had also sustained minor injuries when they jumped into the 10-lane swimming pool on the first day of the event.

The event organiser, Sandeep Tokas, had said that the water was cloudy as rain had disturbed the balance of chemicals added to the pool.

However, the police had booked Tokas. “I have recorded the statements of Rana’s father, maternal uncle, event organisers, and will record Rana’s statement now. The organisers had permission from CRPF for the event but there has been negligence,” investigating officer assistant sub-inspector Dharmender Gaur of Badshahpur police station said.