CHENNAI: The last time the parents saw the Class X girl was on Sunday. The father still remembers that day quite vividly. Sundays are when families are allowed to see their wards and the parents took her to a bakery close to the stadium. They also bought her noodles which she loved. They also took her to one of the beaches in Kollam before dropping her at the training centre. Little did they realize that that would be the last time they would see their daughter alive. Her father, who runs a roadside eatery in Thiruvananthapuram, narrated this story, heavy heart forming a painful backdrop. She was a kabaddi player and was selected to the Sports Authority of India Training Centre (STC) through a talent hunt when she was in Class VIII, one and a half years ago. She, according to the father, was a good student and was looking for a better life through sports. However, fate snapped those dreams prematurely.
In a shocking incident, two minor athletes were found dead hanging in a room on January 15 at SAI centre in Kollam, Kerala. Police suspected death by suicide and notes were recovered form them as well. The father on Tuesday was distraught and alleged that the girl took this step because of harassment and this was mentioned even in the alleged note.
This could be the first instance of two minor athletes dying inside the same SAI facility on the same night. There have been incidents of death by suicide involving an athlete but never two trainees in one hostel under 'unnatural death'. This has come as a shocker to the entire firmament of the country’s premier sports institute managed and run by SAI under the aegis of the Union sports ministry.
They were 17 and 15, one studying in Class X and the other in Class XII (she is from Kozhikode). The father said that he spoke to her a day before the tragic incident and she did not seemed distressed. The entire centre was shocked. A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been reportedly formed on Monday to probe further and the parents are planning to meet the chief minister of Kerala as well. They might even start a 'strike' if they don’t get proper probe and justice.
There have been allegations of poor administration against top officials but it is understood SAI has not received any complaints against anybody from Kollam centre. Safety of athletes in the grassroots should be of paramount importance not just for SAI but also the athletes' commissions of National Sports Federations and Indian Olympic Association.
Big wake up call for authorities
It is understood that SAI has sensitized all regional directors already. This includes how to handle stress of athletes and other support staff. They have also been asked to interact with athletes and increase accessibility. They would also look into addressing mental health issues. They are trying to find out if such an incident could have been averted. There will be an RD conference on January 22-23 in which this will be discussed further.
Multiple enquiries indicated that like most training centres, even this centre, that houses about 60-70 athletes, does not have a sports science wing. The scientific back-up is available at National Centres of Excellence but not in other smaller centres. Since there were no psychologists or counsellors, it's not clear if periodical counselling was made available. But whenever there are camps, then scientific evaluations and counselling are done. This is one area the SAI would be looking to address.
Another concern experts pointed out was in administration of such centres. The administrators at these centres are usually senior coaches and some of them are close to retirement. As a coach, the person could be very talented but they lack the nuances of administration. Interestingly, as one expert pointed out, there is no formal training or refresher courses on administration and capacity building for such coaches.
According to top SAI sources, whatever was required after the suspected suicide cases, they have done. As soon as the authorities were informed, they rushed in their two regional directors from the nearest centres – Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru. The Kollam centre is headed by SC Yadav (Thiruvananthapuram), while Vishnu Sudhakaran is in charge of Benglaluru. According to SAI, they were both stationed at Kollam for the next two days to facilitate interaction with trainees, coaches and parents. “People are in shock here," a source said. "That included trainees, coaches and everyone associated with the centre." There were counselling sessions for all the trainees is what SAI said. The two RDs also spoke with the parents. Hopefully, such incidents will be avoided in future.
No departmental enquiry as yet
It is understood that SAI has not initiated any investigation or enquiry as of now. Their logic apparently is that since the police are investigating the case, they have not started any probe of their own. A SAI source said that if they start another probe it might hamper the police investigation. It is learnt that they were cooperating with the police and providing support in all possible ways. “Once the police report is out whatever action needs to be taken, the SAI would definitely do,” said one official. Whatever issues in the centre in Kollam or elsewhere must be fixed soon.
The STC centres cater to training of players aged 10 years to 18 years and are scouted from grassroots. According to SAI website, "Facilities provided to the trainees include boarding, sports kit, stipend, competition exposure, education expenses, medical, insurance and others expenses." There are about 4800 trainees in 67 centres, says SAI.
With inputs from Shan AS in Thiruvananthapuram
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)