Brijesh Yadav, 17-year-old gymnast, dies after sustaining injury during practice

Brijesh fought for his life for two months in a hospital but ultimately fell to an untimely death

Just a few months after Indians celebrated Dipa Karmakars’s exploits in Rio, a young Indian gymnast succumbed to his death at a hospital after suffering a severe injury to his neck. Brijesh Yadav, the 17-year-old, who sustained the injury in a practice session in Agra, breathed his last on Sunday in Gurgaon.

The national level silver medallist was training to achieve the gold medal in the next meet, a dream that will never be fulfilled now. He battled for his life for two months in a hospital but ultimately fell to an untimely death.

Fatal front flip

While practising a double front flip, Brijesh stumbled, missed a step and fell on a soft mat. Unfortunately, the fall resulted in his head getting twisted. He was rushed to the local hospital immediately. A day later, he was shifted to Paras Hospital in Gurgaon for better treatment. But his injury turned out to be fatal.

As reported in India Times, Arvind Yadav, one of his coaches in the gymnasium, said, “Brijesh was doing his floor practice when he fell and broke his neck. He had already performed the routine four times but lost his balance in the fifth and fell. Although he landed on a soft mat, his neck got twisted," he added.

“Brijesh was preparing for a national school championship. He was first taken to a local hospital and from there shifted to Paras in Gurgaon the next day.”

Severe damage to respiratory centres

The chief of spine surgery at Paras Hospital, Dr. Arun Bhanot, said, "When he was brought to the hospital, his condition was very serious. He was paralysed below the neck. The injuries damaged the respiratory centres. The surgeries were successful but we could never take him completely off ventilator due to damage to the respiratory centres. After some time, he developed infections and it further affected respiratory recovery, which ultimately led to his death. The country has lost a talented young gymnast."

Retired Gymnast coach Gurvinder Singh later reflected on the risks associated with the sport and explained how Brijesh suffered the injury. He said, "Gymnastics has many complex steps. The boy landed on his neck instead of his toes as he probably missed a step while performing the double front. The coaches shouldn't have allowed Yadav to perform the complete exercise unless he was perfect in all the steps."

Edited by Staff Editor