In a shocking incident that again brought to light the poor medical facilities provided for local football
tournaments, a 27-year-old player died on Wednesday after he collapsed
at the Bangalore Football Stadium during a league match.


Venkatesh, a midfielder for A-division side Bangalore Mars, came in as
substitute in the 73rd minute before collapsing in the dying minutes of
the match. The Bangalore District Football Association,
which annually organises the Super, 'A', 'B' and 'C' divisions,
allegedly did not have a doctor present on the field. A physio and
players rushed in and tried standard medical procedures on Venkatesh,
who by now was having fits, teammate Janardhan said.

Then came
the crunch - no ambulance. Though some BDFA members denied the
allegation, team manager Shiva, who is also a BDFA member, said there
was a tempo on standby at the eastern wing of the stadium. "The only
reason we couldn't get it out in time was that there were many two
wheelers parked around it," he said.

Players and officials
carried Venkatesh in their arms off the field, hired an auto rickshaw
and rushed him to Hosmat Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
"There was no pulse or respiration. We gave him CPR and defibrillator
shocks, but it was too late," Hosmat vice-president Dr Ajith Benedict
Royan said.

Preliminary post-mortem reports agreed with Dr
Royan's suggestion that Venkatesh died of cardiac arrest. "There were no
external injuries. This is also known as Sudden Death Syndrome, which
is common among footballers. Maybe if he had been given oxygen or proper
medical care at the time of the incident, he could have stood a
chance," Dr Royan added.