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Hand of death
AVINASH NAIRAVINASH NAIR
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The death of Cristiano D'Lima Junior raises some serious questions about medical facilities available on the field for sportspersons
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— Photos: K. Gopinathan, AFP
Cristiano D'Lima Junior (number 10) officially died of cardiac arrest.
THE KANTEERAVA Stadium has always been mired in controversy and now there is one more dogging it. The final of the 26th edition of the Federation Cup football tournament will now be remembered for reasons other than football. The death of Brazilian striker Cristiano D'Lima Junior has raised many questions on how the tournament as a whole was conducted.
Athletics venue
The stadium itself was designed to be a compact athletic venue and not a football stadium. True, the 1985 edition of the Federation Cup was held here, but the 1997 National Games resulted in a radical revamp of the overall stadium infrastructure. Barring a couple of World Cup qualifying matches and the Asian Under 21 tourney, the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) has always preferred using its own stadium at Ashoknagar.
Teammates praying for him
But the availability of floodlights and a larger seating capacity made KSFA organise this year's event at Kanteerava Stadium. Even when serious doubts were raised over the condition of the playing surface and the matches were just postponed for four days to improve the pitch. This only added to confusion as the dates now overlapped with the State Junior Athletic Championship. Soon officials from both the associations were involved in a heated exchange with the football association threatening to "throw the athletic equipment out if they damaged the playing surface".
The football association was concerned that holes dug for the javelin event would pose an injury risk to players. But the other side shot back that the studs worn by football players caused worse damage to the pitch.
His grieving mother
As if this was not enough, the KSFA could even attract the wrath of FIFA — the world body governing football. Few people in the 15,000 strong crowd in the stadium suspected anything was out of the ordinary when Cristiano stumbled to the ground after colliding with Mohun Bagan keeper Subrata Paul. They just assumed that it was another foul. The gravity of the situation became apparent only when other Dempo players removed their shirts and tried to fan the air around the motionless Cristiano. Cristiano was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Rumours then started circulating that Cristiano's pupils were dilated and the hospital only confirmed everyone's suspicions when he was declared `brought dead'. A pall of gloom descended on the stadium and the Dempo players went about the post-match ceremonies ashen faced and prayers on their lips.
Good man
... and his wife.
An affable person on and off the field, the 25-year-old endeared himself to football fans both at Kolkata, when he played for East Bengal and Goa. But Cristiano's death is not the first. Sanjib Dutta of Railways died after a midfield collision during the 1993 Santosh Trophy at Kannur and charismatic Delhi cricketer Raman Lamba was killed after he was struck on the head while fielding at Dhaka. These facts have raised some serious questions about the medical facilities available to sportspersons on the field in India and many other countries in the sub-continent.
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"It is very sad, but it is fate so one cannot help it. It wasn't the goalkeepers fault, it happens in sport. I feel that family must receive more compensation as he has come from so far away."
Vicky Khan
BCA student
"Bangalore should be ashamed of itself for allowing something like this to happen. We are supposed to be the high-tech city but we cannot even provide basic healthcare facilities. Why wasn't he shifted to Mallya Hospital?"
Sheetal
Fine Arts student
"When I saw the pictures there were no bruises. It is an accident. I don't think there was any foul play. The goalkeeper cannot be blamed, it happens in sport. But the question remains, why wasn't he taken to Mallya, which is outside the stadium?"
Sundaramurthy
Businessman
"This a tragedy. How can we allow this happen? How can the football association be so careless? The playing conditions are terrible right from college level to pro level. Major changes are need to avoid such incidents in the future."
Suveer
Football player
"This is a disaster. I have been a state level under-16 cricket player and things were no better even then. The medical facilities are terrible. But the goalkeeper is not guilty because such things happen while playing."
Madhu Puttappa
Businessman
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