Basketball Player Death: Victim's Family Alleges Negligence By Haryana Government, Calls For Better Sports Infrastructure In The State

Basketball Player Death: A national-level basketball player, Hardik Rathi, tragically lost his life in an accident in Rohtak, Haryana. The 16-year-old was practicing on a basketball court when an iron pole fell on his chest, fatally injuring him.

Hardik was engaged in his regular drills at the court in Lakhan Majra, Rohtak, when the pole collapsed. The shocking incident was captured on CCTV footage.

In the spine-chilling video, Hardik is seen clutching the basketball rim when the pole suddenly uproots and falls on him. Moments later, his friends rush to his aid and quickly remove the pole from over him, but the damage had already been done.

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Hardik's Family Slams Haryana Government 

Days after Hardik’s death, his father, Sandeep Rathi, and coach, Mohit Rathi, held the Haryana Government responsible for the tragedy.

While speaking to Republic, Mohit Rathi strongly criticized the state government, saying that they murdered Hardik.

"We consider the government to be responsible for the death of our child. The government murdered the child," Mohit Rathi said to Republic.

Meanwhile, Sandeep Rathi put forward several demands to the Haryana Government. He urged them to build an indoor stadium in their village, named after his son, so that young players could train for international matches.

Sandeep also appealed for improved sports infrastructure to prevent such incidents in the future.

"My demand from the government is that there should be an indoor stadium built in our village, and it should be named after my son Hardik. So that the children from our village can practice for international matches. I would also ask the government to improve the infrastructure so that any such incident can be avoided in the future," Sandeep Rathi said.

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Two Basketball Players Die In Haryana Due To Poor Sports Infrastructure

Hardik’s tragic accident is not the first devastating incident to strike Haryana. Earlier, 15-year-old Aman also lost his life in a similar manner. The consecutive deaths of two promising young basketball players have raised serious concerns about the state of public sports infrastructure in the region.