CHENNAI: “It was difficult to catch Priya. She was such a fast runner,” recollected an inconsolable friend of the 17-year-old footballer who lost her right leg due to medical negligence and died at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) here on Tuesday.
As R Priya’s body was placed in her house in Kannigapuram, Vyasarpadi, teary-eyed friends and family gathered around. “Get up and put on your shoes, Priya! Let’s go play football,” cried one of her close friends.
One of Priya’s brothers then brought out her jersey and burst into tears. The young footballers contended for it, and one of the girls won. But she wasn’t allowed to take it until Priya’s brother had worn it for a few minutes.
“She was a very fast runner. One of the best players on our team. She played in national and district tournaments, including a recent national tournament in Gujarat. She was a good defender,” said her coach A Joel.
This triggered a flood of memories among Priya’s friends. They recalled how it was tough to catch her not only on the field, but also in the classroom. “She would make us run behind her for a long time before sharing food from her lunch box. She kept saying she would be back to playing football soon,” one of them said.
Priya’s family recalled how she was active even when being wheeled into the operation theatre at the Government Peripheral Hospital in Periyar Nagar on November 7. But a procedure to repair a ligament tear would cost her life.
“She went in smiling. She said ‘tata’. She was smiling and talking to us even after the surgery. That night, she complained of leg pain and the doctors sedated her. In the morning, she started crying in pain again, and they sedated her again. We informed senior doctors and they took a scan which revealed that blood flow to the leg had stopped. They immediately referred her to RGGGH,” recalled Vasanth, one of Priya’s three brothers.
He added that his mother last saw Priya in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) around 2 am on Tuesday. “She opened her eyes and looked at our mother. Her eyes were yellowish. But this morning, the doctors said Priya passed away at 7.15 am. We can’t digest this.”
Vasanth recalled how Priya got interested in sports after watching one of her brothers playing, and the family allowed her to pursue her dreams. She got a seat at the Government Queen Mary’s College under sports quota, and was pursuing her first year in BSc Physical Education.
Police personnel were deployed at Priya’s residence and at the Government Peripheral Hospital in Periyar Nagar. Her body was later laid to rest, and politicians too arrived to pay their respects.
Political leaders express shock
CHENNAI: Leaders of various political parties expressed shock over the death of sportsperson Priya and demanded that TN government grant a higher compensation to her family. Strongly condemning the DMK government, Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami said Priya lost her life due to faulty treatment and the government should pay a compensation of Rs 1 crore to her family. BJP state president K Annamalai said the tragedy took place in the CM’s Assembly segment. “If that’s the situation in the CM’s own constituency, how can other constituencies fare any better?”