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Mineva Punjab director Ranjit Bajaj probably saved the life of his own player on Wednesday when he administered CPR to midfielder Makan Winkle Chothe during a Hero Elite League (U-18 Youth League) match against Reliance Foundation Youth Champs (RFYS) in Goa.
After the 40th minute of the game between Minerva Punjab U-18 and RFYS, Makan Winkle collided with the opposition goalkeeper Khoirom Jackson Singh. Makan lost consciousness immediately as players and officials gathered around him.
Bajaj, who is a regular figure at the touchlines whenever his team plays, noticed that the referee was shaken. The referee gesticulated for the physios to come on and along with the team staff, Bajaj rushed in to check on his player.
Bajaj noticed that Makan Winkle was foaming in the mouth and struggling to breathe. Bajaj saw that Makan Winkle's eyes were rolled back and his hands were moving as if he was having an epileptic fit.
Having been trained in CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), Bajaj knew what to do. And he performed CPR to save Makan Winkle's life.
"They were not able to figure out what was happening and it seemed like all of them panicked," Bajaj said later. "He clenched his fist and his eyes rolled back. I saw that he was struggling to breathe and that was because he was foaming in the mouth.
"I cleared his mouth and performed CPR. I performed a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to get him to breathing again.
"Then we put him in the ambulance. I got into the ambulance along with Makan Winkle and performed CPR in the vehicle. Within 5 minutes of getting onto the ambulance, he started breathing again."
Bajaj confirmed that the player is now safe.
Although there were physios present on the ground, it was probably Bajaj's quick-thinking of performing CPR which saved Makan Winkle's life. "Even our physios ran out there but someone had to do it and I didn't wait," Bajaj said. "This incident shows how important it is to have an ambulance present on the field. Even the match commissioner stopped play for about 20 minutes before the start of the second half to ensure a doctor was called on.
"But that's the sad part, isn't it? There was no actual doctor on the pitch and that's what forced us to act. Even the paramedics are sometimes not trained in CPR. I am just saying these things have to be looked into and we should learn a lesson from them.
"I am trained in CPR and that's why I knew what had to be done. Maybe all the referees should receive training in CPR to avoid any unfortunate incident in the future."
Makan Winkle is one of the two players in Minerva Punjab U-18s, along with Thoiba Singh, who play for the senior side as well. He has made eight appearances for Minerva in the I-League. In the Elite League, he has five goals in six appearances.
Minerva Punjab went on to beat RFYS 3-0 with Luntinmang Haokip scoring a second-half brace and a goal by Abhishek Verma.
