Injured Kerala team skips rematch, closing ceremony

The shadow of the brawl, which took place on Tuesday between the Chandigarh and Kerala boys’ under-19 handball players, was visible on the concluding day of the National School Games on Wednesday. Kuldeep Panwar reports.

The shadow of the brawl, which took place on Tuesday between the Chandigarh and Kerala boys’ under-19 handball players, was visible on the concluding day of the National School Games on Wednesday.

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The injured Kerala team failed to turn up for their semifinal re-match and the contingent boycotted the closing ceremony. “How could have we played the re-match, or attended the closing ceremony when 12 players were admitted in hospital,” said Kerala team coach Shisa Budden.

“We were to report for the re-match at 9am but the players were discharged at 3pm,” Budden added. The hosts, who got a walkover, finally went on to win gold. The president of the Kerala Ayyappa Seva Samti, Santosh Kumar, who had admitted the players to hospital, said, “We have not filed a police complaint but we have submitted a written protest with the Handball Federation of India.”

Things turned ugly at the fag end of the match on Tuesday when the referee showed the red card to three Kerala players when the team was leading 10-6. When a Kerala player protested, the referee slapped him.

The Chandigarh team and a few cricket trainees of the school, who were watching the match, attacked the Kerala players.