CHENNAI: Three Indian weightlifters, who won a gold and two silver in the Masters World Cup held in San Diego, California from October 3-7, met with an accident in the United States on Tuesday night. Four Indian weightlifters were returning from Grand Canyon, Arizona, when the car they were travelling in, collided head-on with another car injuring three of them seriously.
Colonel Jayant Sudhakar, who is also president of the Indian Masters Weightlifting Federation, Santokh Singh and Archana Jain suffered serious injuries in the mishap. Rajiv Sharma, another Indian weightlifter, was lucky to escape unhurt.
Col Sudhakar and Sharma won a gold each in their respective weight categories while the remaining two managed to bag a silver each in the event. "We had gone to Grand Canyon after the event and were returning when our car met with an accident. Col Sudhakar was airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas. Santokh was also admitted at the same hospital while Archana, who fractured her both legs, was referred to another hospital in Las Vegas," Sharma told this daily from the USA.
The national federation had mailed the Indian Embassy in the US and external affairs minister seeking help. "Col Sudhakar and Santokh are critical. Both underwent surgeries. We had sought help from all quarters," Uday Shetty, secretary of the Indian federation, said.