4 national-level hockey players killed in MP road crash, 3 injured
Birthday Boy Among Those Killed; One Injured On Ventilator
P Naveen & Ramendra Singh TNN
Bhopal:15.10.2019
Four teenage national-level hockey players were killed in an accident in Hoshangabad early on Monday while on their way to play in the semi-final of All India Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Tournament. Three others are seriously injured — one of them is on ventilator.
One of those killed, Aadarsh Hardua of Itarsi, had turned 17 on Sunday and the group had gone to his hometown to celebrate his birthday. Aadarsh, 16-year-olds Shahnawaz Khan of Indore and Ashish Lal of Jabalpur, and Aniket Varun, 18, of Gwalior, died on impact. Shaun Gladwin, 22, Akshay Awasthi, 18, and Sahil Chaure, 19, are admitted to a hospital in Hoshangabad.
Akshay, who is on ventilator, has been in the Indian hockey team camp for two years — the select 32 from which 16 are chosen to represent the country. All those killed are MP Hockey Academy players and had several national tournaments under their belt.
Chief minister Kamal Nath expressed his grief, tweeting: “All these players were the pride of Madhya Pradesh. Not only the state, but the whole country had very high hopes of them. We have lost budding, talented players. The entire hockey world will always miss them.”
The tournament was cancelled after the tragedy as teams said they were too much in shock to play, the organisers said. The semi-finals and final were scheduled in Hoshangabad on Monday, and that is where the group was headed after spending the night at Shaun’s house in Itarsi.
All seven of them packed into a Swift Dzire owned by Shaun’s mother. With him at the wheel, they set off on the 18km trip to Hoshangabad around 6.30am. Their semi-final was due to start in an hour.
Near Risalpur village, on NH 69, the car veered off the road and crashed into a tree around 6.40am. Shaun, who survived the accident, told police he lost control while trying to avoid a head-on collision with a jeep. Hoshangabad SP M L Chhari said, “Initially, it seems that reckless driving had led to the crash. The car was at high speed at the time of the accident.”
Sports department officials said the players had taken permission to visit Itarsi to celebrate Aadarsh’s birthday. Hardua’s parents, too, reportedly called sports officials to allow them to leave camp for the night. Officials gave permission on the condition that they would arrange for accommodation in Itarsi so that they wouldn’t have to travel by night, and that they would report well in time for the semi-final the next day. They had gone barely 5km on Monday when they crashed into a roadside tree.
Nath’s media coordinator Narendra Saluja said that the CM has declared financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to families of each of the members of the deceased from his discretionary fund. Besides, these families will get ₹5 lakh as the players were insured by the state’s sports department, Saluja said.
HIGHWAY OF DEATH: The mangled remains of the car carrying the hockey players on NH 69 in MP’s Hoshangabad district on Monday. The players were on their way to play in the semi-final of All India Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Tournament
Birthday Boy Among Those Killed; One Injured On Ventilator
P Naveen & Ramendra Singh TNN
Bhopal:15.10.2019
Four teenage national-level hockey players were killed in an accident in Hoshangabad early on Monday while on their way to play in the semi-final of All India Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Tournament. Three others are seriously injured — one of them is on ventilator.
One of those killed, Aadarsh Hardua of Itarsi, had turned 17 on Sunday and the group had gone to his hometown to celebrate his birthday. Aadarsh, 16-year-olds Shahnawaz Khan of Indore and Ashish Lal of Jabalpur, and Aniket Varun, 18, of Gwalior, died on impact. Shaun Gladwin, 22, Akshay Awasthi, 18, and Sahil Chaure, 19, are admitted to a hospital in Hoshangabad.
Akshay, who is on ventilator, has been in the Indian hockey team camp for two years — the select 32 from which 16 are chosen to represent the country. All those killed are MP Hockey Academy players and had several national tournaments under their belt.
Chief minister Kamal Nath expressed his grief, tweeting: “All these players were the pride of Madhya Pradesh. Not only the state, but the whole country had very high hopes of them. We have lost budding, talented players. The entire hockey world will always miss them.”
The tournament was cancelled after the tragedy as teams said they were too much in shock to play, the organisers said. The semi-finals and final were scheduled in Hoshangabad on Monday, and that is where the group was headed after spending the night at Shaun’s house in Itarsi.
All seven of them packed into a Swift Dzire owned by Shaun’s mother. With him at the wheel, they set off on the 18km trip to Hoshangabad around 6.30am. Their semi-final was due to start in an hour.
Near Risalpur village, on NH 69, the car veered off the road and crashed into a tree around 6.40am. Shaun, who survived the accident, told police he lost control while trying to avoid a head-on collision with a jeep. Hoshangabad SP M L Chhari said, “Initially, it seems that reckless driving had led to the crash. The car was at high speed at the time of the accident.”
Sports department officials said the players had taken permission to visit Itarsi to celebrate Aadarsh’s birthday. Hardua’s parents, too, reportedly called sports officials to allow them to leave camp for the night. Officials gave permission on the condition that they would arrange for accommodation in Itarsi so that they wouldn’t have to travel by night, and that they would report well in time for the semi-final the next day. They had gone barely 5km on Monday when they crashed into a roadside tree.
Nath’s media coordinator Narendra Saluja said that the CM has declared financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to families of each of the members of the deceased from his discretionary fund. Besides, these families will get ₹5 lakh as the players were insured by the state’s sports department, Saluja said.
HIGHWAY OF DEATH: The mangled remains of the car carrying the hockey players on NH 69 in MP’s Hoshangabad district on Monday. The players were on their way to play in the semi-final of All India Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Tournament
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