Just another death of an indian warrior

Many unreported deaths have ocurred at traditional martial arts tournaments all over India over the last 2 decades. These tournaments have a very sad state of affairs as fighters do not undergo any forms of medical checkup and the ringside physicians have little or no experience attending to fighters / combat sports athletes. Here are two of these very sad , recent tragedies : One from Karate and the other from Boxing. The news reports and their sources are as available from official reports.

Karateka dies due to neglect by event officials




Nov 12, 2009 Kozhikode , Kerala : The police have registered a case against the Kaju Kado Karate and Martial Arts Academy following the death of a participant during a tournament held at the Indoor Stadium here on November 7 and 8.

The Kasaba police registered a case against the academy, organisers of the All-Style Martial Arts and Full Contact Tournament, under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code following the post mortem examination report it received from the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

T. Ubais, 19, of Chettippadi, near Parappanangadi, in Malappuram district had died at a private hospital here around 3.30 a.m. on Monday. He swooned at the venue of the tournament, soon after a round on the concluding day of the two-day tournament on Sunday. He was given first aid at the venue and later shifted to the hospital.

The post mortem examination report said the cause of the death was “sub arachnoid haemorrhage due to vertebral artery rupture following a blunt force injury to the neck”.

Cause of death

As suspected earlier, it was a case of cervical trauma during the sport-related activity. The Department of Forensic Medicine conduct the post mortem examination.

A couple of days ago, the police had registered a case under Section 174 (police to inquire and report on doubt regarding the cause of death) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. They had been awaiting the post-mortem report.

Ubais, a construction worker, had started karate training two-and-a-half years ago. He had entered the quarterfinals in the “full contact” in the 55-60 kg category of the tournament.

Source : Online news The Hindu
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Mumbai College boxer dies after a blow to head at boxing tourney
MUMBAI: A final-year BCom student died of brain haemorrhage at a city hospital on Thursday, less than 36 hours after losing a bout in an intercollege boxing tournament for Mumbai University students. Doctors said the cause of the haemorrhage appeared to be a "compression of the brain" caused by a hit on the head.

Pramod Sav was a finalyear student of Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce at GTB Nagar in Sion. The 21-year-old was into boxing for the last three years and was one of the 200 participants in a boxing tournament being hosted by Mumbai University on its Kalina campus.

Sav had a bout on Tuesday evening in which he took on a student of Wilson College. Sav narrowly lost the bout after three rounds, which saw several sharp blows being exchanged.

Those who witnessed the tie said though it was close and filled with sharp exchanges, neither Sav nor his opponent had serious external injuries. "Both contestants had the necessary safety gear," a witness said.

Sav, however, started complaining of nausea after the match. "He headed for home around 9pm," Mumbai Boxing Association chairman Rajan Jothady said. Sav's friends, seeing his condition, decided not to take him to his GTB Nagar residence but took him to Sion Hospital. He was given artificial respiratory support there and his family was called to the hospital but doctors recommended that he be shifted to another hospital that had better emergency-care facilities .

Sav was taken to Bombay Hospital but he had lapsed into coma even before he could be wheeled in, doctors said, adding that he arrived there early on Wednesday.

Doctors said his chest showed evidence of deep injuries . "There were no superficial injuries. But a CT scan showed there was a large clot that was pressing the brain and there was a change in the position of the brain," said Bombay Hospital consultant neurosurgeon Nootan Kumar Sharma. A team of doctors performed a complicated surgery on Sav but his condition deteriorated. "There was a subdural clot and we removed it. But he died of compression of the brain early on Thursday," Sharma said. He, however, added that Sav could have been saved had the surgery been done earlier.

The MBA has asked the university to provide financial support to the family.

College pays medical fees of deceased boxer
The Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce paid the medical expenses of their 21-year-old student, Pramod Sav, who died of a brain haemorrhage early Thursday morning, after losing a boxing bout less than 36 hours earlier. On Thursday, the college stayed shut and a condolence meeting was held for Sav, a third-year BCom student. Sav had lost a boxing bout on Tuesday evening in an inter-college boxing tournament held by the Mumbai University on its Kalina campus. After the match, Sav complained of a headache and of feeling dizzy, said university officials. He was taken to Sion hospital and was subsequently shifted to Bombay Hospital for surgery.

“He had been playing for the past few years and had no previous medical history,” said Bina Punjabi, principal of Guru Nanak College in Sion. “The family is in shock. We paid for all the expenses.”

“We are still recovering from the shock,” said Punjabi. “He was a jolly, well-behaved boy.”

The Maharashtra Boxing Association said it would try and help out the boy’s family. “He was part of the association. We will help the family out,” said Bharatkumar Whaval, executive secretary of the association

Sav’s boxing opponent walks out of next match
MUMBAI: The 18-year-old boxing opponent of Pramod Sav could not play his next match after being told of the 21-yearold's hospitalization on Wednesday. Sav died of brain haemorrhage at a city hospital on Thursday - 31 hours after he suffered a few blows to his head during an intercollegiate boxing tournament conducted by the Mumbai University.

Sav's opponent was seen crying during Wednesday's tournament. "Although he went to the ring, he could not bring himself to play after the first round and lost. He was disturbed throughout," said Rajan Jothady, chairman of Mumbai Boxing Association (MBA) and also his coach.

The first-year BSc student was also not present for his lectures on Friday. His coach said that the student's parents are now concerned and have asked him to stay indoors. All attempts to get in touch with the family proved futile.

Sources : The Times of India