Two teens die as basketball hoops collapse in Haryana
Two teenagers, including 16-year-old national-level basketball player Hardik Rathi, died after iron poles of basketball hoops collapsed in Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, Haryana. Families and opposition leaders alleged negligence in maintaining sports infrastructure, calling for urgent inspections and accountability
Chandigarh: A national-level player and another teen died in freak accidents on separate basketball courts in Haryana’s Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, after the iron pole of the basketball hoop fell on them, police said on Wednesday.
While the opposition parties slammed the BJP government in Haryana over the “crumbling” sports infrastructure in the state, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini told reporters that he will first gather all the details before commenting on the matter.
In Rohtak, national-level basketball player Hardik Rathi (16) died after the iron pole of a basketball hoop fell on his chest during practice, while in Bahadurgarh in neighbouring Jhajjar district, 15-year-old Aman succumbed to injuries he suffered in a similar accident.
The Rohtak incident on Tuesday was captured on CCTV camera.
The footage showed Hardik, who earlier took part in the national sub-junior basketball championship, reaching for the hoop, but as soon as he attempts to hang from it, the pole collapses and crushes him under it.
Other players sitting on the court side in the sports complex at Lakhan Majra village rushed Hardik to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, local SHO Samarjeet Singh said.
Police said the circumstances leading to the collapse of the iron poles in both incidents, including the condition of the equipment, are being probed.
Sunita Khatri, Deputy Director, Rohtak Sports Division, said, “The Lakhan Majra stadium comes under the panchayat department.” The Bahadurgarh incident took place on Sunday, when Aman had gone to a basketball court on the premises of a government school for practice.
The teenager was left critically injured after an iron pole fell on him and died at PGIMS Rohtak during treatment on Monday night, SHO (City) Dinkar Yadav said.
Khadak Singh, Hardik’s elder brother, told reporters that not just the family, but the nation has lost a promising basketball player due to the negligence of the authorities.
He also said that the condition of the iron pole, which he claimed was rusted, had been brought to the notice of the officials on multiple occasions, but nothing was done to fix it.
Holding the sports department and the government responsible for his brother’s death, Khadak Singh said Hardik never missed any competition, be it U-14 or U-17, as it was his dream to lead the Indian basketball team one day.
“Hardik used to train twice a day. As soon as he tried to touch the hoop on Tuesday morning, it got uprooted and fell on his chest, leading to internal bleeding, which proved fatal,” he said.
He also claimed that Congress MP Deepender Hooda got two grounds built in the village, and in 2023, sanctioned Rs 11 lakh from his MPLAD funds, but the officials concerned sat over it and did not repair the basketball pole.
Commenting on the incidents, Haryana’s Development and Panchayat Minister Krishan Lal Panwar said the officers concerned will inspect sports equipment at all the schools, including private institutes.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda slammed the state government over the incidents, and said the previous Congress regime built stadiums even at the village level so that the youth could channelise their energy in a positive direction and bring laurels for the nation.
“But the present government led by the BJP did not take care of the sports infrastructure built by the Congress,” he alleged.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala called Hardik’s death a murder by the system, and not an accident.
In a post on X in Hindi, Surjewala said, “Hardik was a promising young talent from Haryana. Can the BJP government return the son to his parents? CM Nayab Saini also bears direct responsibility.
“Players from Lakhna Majra met Nayab Saini three months ago demanding maintenance of sports infrastructure, but nothing happened. Same old story, no change. What was the reason for this criminal negligence? If you can’t even fix a single pole, what kind of government are you running?” Congress MP from Rohtak, Deepender Singh Hooda, alleged that sports equipment and infrastructure in stadiums are lying in a dilapidated condition.
“The way two lives have been lost, it is no less than criminal negligence for which the government is responsible,” he said.
He also said that despite Haryana contributing half of the medals the country wins in any international event, including the Olympic Games, the BJP government does not care about the proper upkeep of sports facilities in the state.
