Indian player dies after collapsing on pitch
Reuters - Wednesday 21 March 2012, 19:18
An Indian player died after
collapsing on the pitch during a district-level league match,
the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Wednesday.
Local media reported 27-year-old Bangalore Mars striker D
Venkatesh collapsed following a cardiac arrest at the Bangalore
Football Stadium.
With no ambulance around, his Bangalore Mars team-mates
hired a tuk-tuk (an auto-rickshaw) to take him to a local
hospital where Venkatesh was declared dead, one report said.
"Venkatesh came on as a substitute in the second half for
his club against South Western Railway in a Bangalore District
Football Association 'A' Division match and collapsed during the
fag end of the match," the AIFF said on its website."
Federation officials, however, were not available for
further details.
The death coincides with the English Premier League's
decision to review its medical procedures following Bolton
Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba's cardiac arrest while
playing against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Muamba is recovering in hospital.
It was in the south Indian city of Bangalore that top Indian
club Dempo's Brazilian striker Cristiano Junior died after
colliding with Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Subrata Paul in the final
of the 2004 Federation Cup.