“Amma, will I not survive?”
Soon after meeting her mother at the hospital following her suicide attempt on Wednesday, young Aparna Ramabhadran breathed her last.
Did the 15-year-old with a promising rowing career want to end her life? Clearly not. Did she want to end the torture and torment she was facing at the SAI centre in Kerala? The answer is clear.
In what appears to be a suicide pact, Aparna, along with three other athletes from Kerala’s SAI centre, consumed a poisonous fruit on Wednesday afternoon. The note the young girls left behind indicated that the harassment and bullying they had faced at the hostel had reached an unbearable level.
As the news made headlines on Thursday afternoon, Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was quick to promise action. He said “If anyone from Sports Authority of India is found guilty in connection with this tragic incident, strictest possible action will be taken.”
But the question isn’t what will be done... Rather, what should have been done.
This isn’t a career of a boxer that a federation has derailed due to it’s own infighting. This isn’t a few months of a badminton player’s life that have gone waste because a federation decided to ban her on a whim.
The tragic episode in Kerala is a sportsperson losing her life because the bosses of Indian sport are busy with everything other than what they pledge to work for -- the Indian sportsman.
Why was there no one to help the girls if they were being harassed by seniors? Why were seniors even being allowed to bully these girls? Was the warden also involved in the mistreatment of these young athletes ?
Snooker star Pankaj Advani’s response to the incident answered all the above questions. He said, “If the Indian sports structure, the authorities and the system could only make the athlete their prime focus then all problems will go away. In India an athlete is never the main focus, that’s why so many unfortunate incidents happen.”
Former sprinter Ashwini Nachappa added: “There was no one to listen to their problems, this is where SAI should work to make its system strong. Those girls felt helpless.”
It is one thing to live in an ill-equipped government-run centre, sweat it out in gruelling training sessions, expecting that precious tip from a coach and the dream to win a gold. But the girls felt desperately helpless, which was enough to snuff out their dreams and take the step to end their lives.
When an athlete wins Gold, it is claimed by the nation. But who shares their grief?
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