Two emerging Indian badminton players lose life in car crash – Badminton news
India’s badminton community was shocked when they heard the sad news in which two state-level shuttlers, Saurabh Paralikar and Siddhant Ghorpade met with a tragic fate as they lost their lives in a road accident near Balewadi stadium Pune, on Sunday, February 12. The third passenger, Devavrat Bhalerao, another badminton player survived the accident but unfortunately, he received severe injuries and is in critical condition.
According to initial reports, Siddhant was driving a car near Balewadi stadium when it lost control and crashed into a tree.
While briefing the media about the sad incident, sub-inspector DP Pachange from the Chaturshrungi police station said, “Such was the impact of the crash that the car was mangled and the trio was trapped inside the vehicle. We had to remove the roof of the car to rescue them. That took nearly an hour. By then, Siddhant and Saurabh had died.”
The only survivor Devavrat was taken out of car with a fractured left hand and leg, while he got severe chest injuries that will definitely take time to heal. Devavrat now has been admitted in Aditya Birla hospital where he is under observation.
The funerals of Saurabh and Siddhant took place on Sunday at the Vaikunth crematorium. A large number of their relatives, mates and local badminton body officials attended the ceremony and said good bye to the players who could not defeat death.
While paying homage to the deceased, Uday Sane Poona, a District Metropolitan Badminton Association (PDMBA) official said, “They were budding players and had the potential to represent the country.”
Saurabh had the honour of being the flag barrier of Pune in National games. He kissed the silver medal in the 2007 Junior Nationals and while serving as the Pune University captain, he secured victory twice in Inter-University Championship of 2008 and 2009.
Siddhant, originally from Kolhapur migrated to Pune in 2009 to study engineering and play badminton professionally. He also represented Pune in the open category at national level and was respected as a gentleman. Maharashtra boy Devavrat played the national Doubles and was a junior state champion back in 2008.
The whole badminton fraternity expressed their grief on the tragic loss of these young players and is praying for the speedy recovery of young Devavrat.
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