The Hindu : Sport / Football : Tragedy averted through timely action

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 13, 2005

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Sport - Football

Tragedy averted through timely action

S.R. Suryanarayan

Yuraj's pulse rate had dropped to 46 and he looked in real danger

CHENNAI: At the Nehru stadium on Tuesday, a day when the mercury shot up by a few degrees and the NFL second division matches were played in furnace-like conditions, Bengal Mumbai FC substitute Yuraj Pun had a miraculous escape after passing out in the dressing room soon after the match.

Only half an hour or so earlier Yuraj and Indian Bank's Anandavasan had been involved in a collision. Nothing looked amiss then as both players rose, waved the stretchers away and returned to action.

As it turned out, Anandavasan had received a mild knock on his forehead while Yuraj was hit close to his left temple. When the latter fell unconscious in the dressing room, the stadium was almost empty. The ambulance too had left and so had many of the officials. Fortunately for the BMFC player, the Indian Bank doctor, B. Ashok Kumar, was around to help.

Dr. Ashok told The Hindu on Thursday, "when I saw Yuraj the first thing that struck me was that he was hardly breathing. I immediately gave him chest massage and then mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. There was some response though he did not gain consciousness. The player's pulse had dropped to 46 and he looked in real danger."

Luckily, the Assistant Secretary of the Chennai Football Association, Balaji, had not left the venue and his vehicle was used to immediately shift the player to the nearby K.J. Hospital.

"The hospital made quick arrangements in the ICU and the pulse rate improved to 96, but the player remained unconscious until around midnight. A CT scan of his head did not reveal anything," he said.

All's well

Dr. Ashok said that the player, who had joined the team late and without any practice, suffered from exhaustion, dehydration and asphyxiation. Yuraj has been discharged now and all's well with him, but it was a close call.

It was the timely action taken by Dr. Ashok and the assistance provided by Balaji that saved the organising committee the blushes. C.R. Visswanathan, CFA President, who was not around, kept himself updated with the developments and thanked Dr. Jagadeesan of K.J. Hospital for the personal care he showed.

"The CFA officials, Balaji and convenor Ravikumar David in particular, and Indian Bank doctor Ashok Kumar rendered a great service to prevent a tragedy. We are indebted to them," said Mr. Visswanathan, also the AIFF vice-president.

With no respite from the weather, the Organising committee would do well to have not only a fully equipped ambulance but also a team of doctors and a makeshift hospital within the stadium premises.

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