New Delhi: A promising gymnast from Madhya Pradesh, Ujair Ali, has died after sustaining a neck injury during the School Games Nationals in Kolkata, prompting his family to allege negligence and accuse officials accompanying the state contingent of abandoning the 16-year-old boy after admitting him to a government health facility in West Bengal.Ujair, from Ujjain, died on January 28 at Kolkata’s IPGMER SSKM Hospital after battling for life for 12 days following an injury he sustained on January 16 during a warm-up before his competition round.
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Ujair was attempting a double backflip when he lost his balance after falling from the beam and landed on his neck, dislocating his C4 and C5 vertebrae. The 69th School Games in boys and girls U-17 and U-19 categories saw participation of over 800 age-group gymnasts from 44 state units affiliated to the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) and was held at the BNR Indoor Stadium.The national-level gymnast and two-time junior state champion in artistic competition was rushed to the hospital by team coach Aman Verma and team manager Hemant Vishwakarma.Sources at SSKM Hospital said the boy suffered severe dislocation of the upper cervical vertebrae. “Such high-energy traumatic injuries are often fatal due to brainstem compression, immediate neurological injury or respiratory arrest,” the sources added.Ujair’s cousin Imran Ali claimed that the coaches and managers accompanying the team left for their hometowns in MP the next day, January 17, without staying with the hospitalized Ujair. When contacted, Ram Baniyar, one of the managers, said he had gone to Bhopal because there were 42 other junior athletes who needed to return home.The medical expenses of Ujair’s treatment were borne by the West Bengal government, however, Ujair’s family wanted him admitted to a private hospital and operated within 48 hours.Alok Khare, joint director of MP state education department, said the government would soon provide financial assistance to Ujair’s family. SGFI secretary Amarjeet Sharma, who initially said he was unaware of any such incident, later informed that the federation would extend all help to the family.
