While competitors face the brunt in the national age group competition, officials pass the buck

Our Correspondent

A class seven student from the outskirts of Ranchi had borrowed fencing equipment to make a good impression in the six-day national cadet fencing championships in Uttarakhand.

Unfortunately, the 13-year-old fencer fell unconscious due to hot and humid conditions during her first-round sabre match on Monday (September 8) at Haldwani’s multipurpose indoor hall. The Ranchi fencer was one of the four competitors, who weren’t able to cope with the conditions due to non-functioning of the air conditioner and were given medical treatment to recover, one of the officials familiar with the development said.

The cadet competition is open to players above 13 and below 17 years of age.

The teenage fencer from Ranchi, however, had to pull out of the competition as she wasn’t able to recover physically and mentally. “After she fell unconscious, she wasn’t able to recover. So, we decided to withdraw her from the match,” one of the Jharkhand player told Sportsbackstory.com on condition of anonymity over the phone from Haldwani.

The multipurpose indoor hall was the venue for the 2025 Uttarakhand National Games. The ongoing national cadet fencing championships is also a selection trial for the upcoming Asian Cadet Championships.

The Ranchi girl couldn’t showcase her potential due to official apathy, Jharkhand team’s coach added. Jharkhand is fielding a 13-member team, including five girls in national cadet event.

At the helm of Fencing Association of India is India’s seasoned sports administrator Rajiv Mehta, who served as IOA (Indian Olympic Association) secretary general. He has been running the FAI for over a decade. He recently got re-elected as secretary general of Fencing Association of India. Mehta says there was some problem with air conditioning inside the indoor ball on day-one of the meet. “Things were better on day-two,” Mehta said through a text message.

It is clear that Mehta and his team didn’t check logistics at the venue prior to the start of the national meet. It could have avoided an embarrassing situation and would have given a good impression to the young fencers from across the country.    

According to local media reports in Haldwani, Mehta put the blame on the state sports government for the poor maintenance of the multipurpose indoor hall. “Due to lack of proper maintenance, the indoor hall is crumbling. If the state government isn’t able to maintain the good infrastructure no sports competition will take place in future,” Mehta was quoted as saying by local media in Haldwani.

Incidentally, the Haldwani’s indoor multipurpose hall is also the venue of the Asian Cadet Fencing Championships starting on September 19.

While the officials pass the buck, the unfortunate incident has left a lasting impact on the young fencer who had borrowed equipment for the national meet. The teenager from Ranchi is yet to overcome the shock. “She doesn’t want to speak on pulling out of the competition for no fault of her own,” one of the Jharkhand player said. “We are taking care and she is having proper meals.”

Competitors from more than 20 state units are competing in foil, sabre and epee events (Individual and team) in boys and girls sections.

ENDS