Indore: Shocked students say Tekchand Kohli was fit

Students and professors from the department of physical education in Indore, who know Tekchand Kohli, 19, closely were in a state of shock on Tuesday when they came to know about his untimely death. They claimed Kohli was physically fit and more than that a good athlete.

Students and professors from the department of physical education in Indore, who know Tekchand Kohli, 19, closely were in a state of shock on Tuesday when they came to know about his untimely death. They claimed Kohli was physically fit and more than that a good athlete.

Meanwhile, the incident has brought to the fore the department’s seriousness about the health of its students and fitness as they admit students on the basis of a medical certificate (issued by a government doctor) and furnished by students at the time of admission. Currently, the department has 160 students.

Speaking to HT, one of the students, who was present at the time of incident, claimed Kohli was physically fit but was on fast on Monday and participated in the trial on empty stomach.

“At around 5 pm, nine out of total 12 students who were shortlisted in the first round of trial started running. We had to complete 12 rounds of the 400-metre track at UTD campus. We had almost completed the trial, when the incident happened,” he added.

When contacted the department head SK Yadav too confirmed that Kohli was physically fit.

“You could judge his stamina on the basis of the fact that he used to come to university’s Khandwa campus cycling all the way from his village around 16 kilometres away. Even, in the first round of trial he performed exceptionally well and came second and in the second trial run, he again secured the second spot. That is when he fainted and collapsed on the ground,” Yadav said.

When asked if the varisty conducted regular fitness and medical check-up of students, Yadav said medical certificates provided by the students fulfil the fitness parameter.

“There is no provision of conducting medical or fitness test of students here at the university. Students need to submit medical certificate issued by any government doctor,” Yadav informed.

Meanwhile, when contacted DAVV’s acting vice-chancellor Prof Ashutosh Mishra termed the incident unfortunate and announced ex-gratia relief for Kohli’s family. A committee set up by the university will also conduct a thorough investigation.

Read: DAVV physical education student dies a day after collapsing at cross-country trials