The final meet of the season nearly turned fatal for LIC’s Arya. The Kerala athlete collapsed midway through the women’s 400m race of the 52nd national open championship at the Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday but there was no medical help at hand even as she was struggling for breath. There was not even a stretcher available at the venue. Arya was carried off the track by athletes and coaches.
More than 15 minutes had elapsed when a 108 ambulance reached the Nehru Stadium to take a visibly struggling Arya to a hospital. Not even basic first-aid facility was forthcoming as fellow athletes wailed in panic.
The callous attitude of the Athletic Federation of India put the life of a young athlete in danger and left onlookers furious. Athletes and coaches fumed at the failure of the AFI to have a doctor and an ambulance at the venue.
One coach said the AFI had assured the participating teams that medical facilities would be in place in a meeting before the event.
“I was shocked to find that Arya was left to fend for herself in an hour of great distress. It is how athletes are treated in India. There is no one to care for them in our country. No wonder India failed to win any medal in athletics at the London Olympics,” he raged.
AFI secretary C.K. Valson was seen frantically calling up people to provide medical attention to Arya.
He kept repeating that there was a doctor at the venue. No doctor arrived soon enough because the AFI had failed to get one on board.
There was only a lot of screaming and hand wringing from the AFI. If parents had seen the plight of Arya, they would never aspire to send their children to athletic coaching. The event where the shocking incident took place was not some school meet; it was India’s premier open competition.
Doctors always maintain that treatment in the golden hour is critical but athletes in India only get shoddy treatment.