Thiruvananthapuram: A sprightly teenager from Melukavu in Kottayam district who was a budding football star passed away on Monday after battling for his life following a freak hammer throw accident in Pala earlier this month.
Apheel Johnson, 16, the only child of Johnson George and Darly, was a volunteer at the State Junior Athletic Meet at Pala – the town where he was a Class XI student at the St Thomas School – when a contestant threw a hammer that struck him on the head, causing severe head injuries.
Apheel was volunteering for the javelin throw event in the championship, which was being conducted close to where the hammer throw contestants in the girls’ section were also competing. The mishap happened when Apheel was on the ground to pick up one of the javelins.
A preliminary investigation has pointed to lapse on the part of the organisers.
Apheel suffered skull, brain and eye injuries in the incident and he was being provided expert treatment at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital, where his parents kept a prayerful watch outside the ICU. His condition improved in the first few days and he could breathe on his own for a short while, but matters turned worse later, and the end came on Monday.
The state human rights commission also sought a clarification from the authorities concerned, and asked the deputy superintendent of police, Pala, and the deputy director of education for Kottayam district to submit a report on the incident within four weeks.
Popular sports specialist and coach Dr Jins Kappan told Gulf News that organisers of junior athletic meets are often under pressure to conduct throw events like discus, shot put, javelin and hammer simultaneously owing to tight time schedules of such meets.
“Unlike in international meets where there are only two sections, namely men and women, junior meets have different age categories for various throw events. If all those throw events are to be held one after another, it would take several more days as against the 2-3 days allotted for such meets now. Perhaps this mishap will make authorities take more precaution in future,” he said.
Apheel was a potential soccer star who had recently taken a major step towards realising his big-time ambitions in the game. In April when the Kerala Blasters Football Club held a preliminary camp to identify young soccer stars, Apheel was one of the brightest prospects spotted at the camp.
He was one of only two players picked from the camp by the selectors who were impressed with his midfield play. That led to his signing up for the Academy League, a step to possible future soccer stardom.
In one disastrous moment, a heavy metal ball wrecked all of those dreams and a family’s hopes.
