Maharashtra netball player drowns in freak accident

Maharashtra netball player drowns in freak accident

A 19-year-old netball player Mayurish Pawar, who was competing in the National Games in Kerala, met with a tragic end on Monday when he drowned while taking photos on the Shankumugam beach.

Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was declared brought dead. Initially, games authorities claimed that he died of cardiac arrest but after the post-mortem examination it was found that he had drowned. The police later registered a case of unnatural death.

In the morning, his team had played a match against Chandigarh. After the match, some of the team members on their way back to the games village in Karyavattom had a brief stopover at Shankumugam beach.

The police said he was caught in the waves while taking snaps. Though he was immediately taken out and rushed to a nearby hospital he could not be saved. The post-mortem examination found sand in his lungs.

The body will be flown to Mumbai on Tuesday morning. The police have ruled out foul play saying it was a freak incident.

Mayurish was studying engineering at a college in Wadgaon, Pune. Earlier, he had represented Maharashtra in age-group netball and kho-kho tournaments.

The technical convener of the National Games, S Rajeev, said the tournament would continue as per schedule. “We held a minute’s silence at the venues today. The games will continue as per schedule,” said Rajeev.

“Pawar played the entire match today and did not complain of any discomfort,” he said.