Vinesh Phogat criticises Haryana government after 21-year-old dies in swimming pool incident
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Vinesh Phogat criticises Haryana government after 21-year-old dies in swimming pool incident")
The pool at the aquatics arena Photograph: (AFP)
A 21-year-old drowned in a swimming pool at Eklavya Stadium on Thursday (May 14). Following the incident, Vinesh Phogat criticised the government, alleging that repeated athlete deaths due to systemic failures.
The death of 21-year-old athlete Gaurav Jain at Jind’s Eklavya Stadium has once again raised serious concerns about the condition and safety of sports infrastructure in Haryana. What began as a 25-day swimming training course ended in tragedy on May 14, when the young swimmer was found dead in the stadium pool. The incident occurred at the swimming facility inside Eklavya Stadium on Safidon Road in Jind district. Following allegations of negligence by the victim’s family, Civil Lines police registered an FIR against the pool operator, coach and members of the management team.
A resident of Gandhi Gali in Jind, Gaurav Jain, had reportedly been attending evening swimming sessions at the stadium for nearly a month. According to his father, Sanjay Jain, the family had paid INR 3,500 for the course, which was conducted daily from 7 pm to 8 pm.
When Gaurav failed to return home by around 8.30 pm on Thursday, his family began searching for him and eventually reached the stadium. Sanjay Jain alleged that they were initially prevented from entering the pool area and after forcing their way inside, they discovered Gaurav’s body floating in the water.
“When we forcibly entered the premises, we saw Gaurav’s body floating in the pool,” Sanjay claimed.
The grieving father accused the staff and coach of refusing to help after the body was found. He further said that he and another family member had to remove Gaurav from the pool themselves and transport him to the hospital on a motorcycle, where doctors declared him dead.
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The family also alleged that electric current may have been released into the pool during maintenance work and according to Sanjay Jain, electricity had been passed through the water while his son was inside the pool, which he believes caused the fatal incident.
The tragedy sparked anger among local residents and family members, who later met Haryana Deputy Speaker Dr Krishna Midha, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Imran Raza and Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh, demanding swift action and arrests.
Civil Lines SHO Pooja confirmed that police had registered a case based on the complaint submitted by Gaurav’s father. Authorities said the body had been sent for postmortem examination and that investigations were ongoing.
Vinesh Phogat criticises Haryana government
The incident has also triggered political and public criticism. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat strongly criticised the Haryana government and sports authorities, accusing them of repeatedly neglecting athlete safety and failing to properly maintain sports facilities.
In a detailed post on X, Phogat described Gaurav’s death as not an ordinary accident and questioned the state’s claims regarding the quality of sports infrastructure in Jind.
“When I had raised the demand in the Assembly to build a swimming pool in Ramrai village of Julana constituency, Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam ji had responded that an ‘Olympic-level swimming pool’ already exists in Jind,” Phogat wrote.
“Today, all of Haryana is witnessing the condition of that so-called Olympic-level swimming pool. Fees are charged from athletes, but safety arrangements appear to be non-existent,” she added.
The Olympian further questioned who would take responsibility for Gaurav’s death, questioning whether the sports department would once again attempt to avoid accountability.
“It is easy to make speeches and advertisements in the name of sports. Providing a safe environment for athletes is the real responsibility of the government,” Phogat said.
“If stadiums and sports facilities themselves begin taking athletes’ lives, then such a sports model should be a matter of shame.”
