When India goalkeeper Baljit Singh set foot on the Balewadi Sports Complex turf for a routine training session on Friday, little did he know that it could well be his last training stint under the bar for his country.
When India goalkeeper Baljit Singh set foot on the Balewadi Sports Complex turf for a routine training session on Friday, little did he know that it could well be his last training stint under the bar for his country.
Fate took an ugly turn for the 28-year-old custodian when a normal practice routine under the aegis of national goalkeeping coach Romeo James resulted in an injury to his right eye. The injury, say people in the know, has put an end to his career.
Normal training
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Remember the time? A jubilant India goalkeeper Baljit Singh after winning the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai |
"Romeo was putting goalkeepers Balli (Baljit's pet name), Adrian D'Souza, Bharat Chettri and PR Sreejesh through the paces with some golf ball training a normal practice carried out to enhance the goalkeepers' vision and reflexes. One of the fiercely hit balls struck Balli's eye through his helmet visor. The impact resulted in Baljit using all the force of his palm to cover his eye. Only when he removed his hand, a few minutes later, did everyone around realise the full extent of the injury. His eye was smashed inside the socket," an official present at the India camp told SUNDAY MiD DAY on Saturday.
Team physio Shrikant Iyengar rushed to the scene but was not prepared for such a serious incident. He couldn'tu00a0 do much, stressing a check-up at a hospital was the best option.
Grave injury"Everyone was shocked by the gravity of the injury. And even as Balli stood firm, without shedding a tear, Romeo and coach Harinder Singh were inconsolable. Romeo couldn't stop blaming himself for what happened and Harinder kept weeping even as Balli was being rushed to the nearby Sancheti hospital," said the witness.
The worst, however, was yet to come as the Pune doctors too reacted with shock seeing the player's condition. "One of the doctors said the eye suffered 90 per cent damage and was beyond repair. However, with there still being a 10 per cent chance, they then suggested that we rush Balli to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS which is one of the best places in the country for optical treatment," he added.
Baljit was air-lifted to Delhi and underwent a three-hour operation at AIIMS after preliminary reports suggested that the retina, cornea and lens of the eye were damaged.
No Euro tour
Baljit is ruled out of India's four-week four-nation tour to Europe beginning July 24 and comprising 12 Tests across England, Belgium, Spain and Netherlands.
Another insider said that the worst is yet to come for the 2007 Asia Cup-winning goalkeeper who's marriage is scheduled for October 1: There's a strong possibility that vision in the affected eye is unlikely to be restored fully. And this could only mean curtains to a promising career. Indian hockey's misfortune continues.
