An 18-year-old athlete succumbed to injuries on Wednesday, a day after he was rescued from the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) athletics academy at Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium here. Sprinter Palendra Chaudhary was found hanging in his hostel room on Tuesday.
The police control room received a call at 9 p.m. on Tuesday from Safdarjung Hospital after Palendra was admitted in an unconscious state by his coach Harkamaljeet Singh.
Palendra was residing at the JLN hostel since November 2016, and was under training for 100-m and 200-m races. He was found hanging by a female athlete, also a hosteller.
“The girl raised an alarm. His [Palendra’s] coach and security guards took him to the JLN medical centre. He was taken to Safdarjung Hospital from there,” said Additional DCP (South) Vijayanta Arya.
No note found
Ms. Arya added that the doctor declared him dead on Wednesday morning. Inquest proceedings have been initiated. Palendra’s viscera has been preserved and sent for examination.
“No note was found in the hostel room. The case is under investigation. His family members were informed and the body was handed over to them after the post-mortem,” said Ms. Arya.
The police have seized the athlete’s mobile phone.
“Palendra trained till 5.30 p.m. [on Tuesday] at JLN and returned to his hostel room. Preliminary information suggests that the incident happened around 6 p.m. Other athletes and Palendra’s ‘sister’, who had come to visit him, raised an alarm over the incident. He was alive and was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital by SAI officials. He was given CPR in the ambulance and emergency medical attention was given to him at the hospital, upon arrival,” the SAI statement said.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore expressed his condolences over Palendra’s death.
SAI Director General Neelam Kapur has ordered an internal enquiry to ascertain facts. The inquiry will be headed by SAI Secretary S.S. Chhabra.
Ms. Kapur said, “The inquiry officer will speak to all people concerned — coaches, other athletes and his family members, especially his ‘sister’ who had come to visit him that evening, to understand what may have led him to take the step. This is a very sad turn of events and we are extending all support to the family. Arrangements are being made to send the body to Aligarh for the last rites.”
In 2017, Palendra was selected for Asian Youth Championships at Bangkok and won a gold medal in the relay race. He participated in the World Youth Championship in July 2017.
He was in Jabalpur till July this year to complete formalities related to joining the Army. Thereafter, he joined regular training at the JLN academy.
Suicide prevention helpline: Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health,
011-4076 9002, Monday-Saturday (10 a.m.-7.30 p.m.)
