Basketball Hoop, Pull-Ups, Then A Tragedy: Marine Engineering Cadet Dies

A 20-year-old cadet at a marine engineering institute in Pune died after a basketball backboard fell on him, causing severe head injuries. He was rushed to a hospital, but could not make it.

Vishal Verma, a second-year student at Tolani Maritime Institute, stepped out yesterday for a morning walk and some exercise on the campus. He was doing pull-ups on the basketball hoop when the entire frame collapsed on him, and he suffered serious head injuries. The young cadet bled heavily as fellow students and staff on the campus rushed him to a hospital. Doctors there declared him dead.

According to Vishal's LinkedIn account, he was from Basti in Uttar Pradesh. He joined the Pune-based institute in 2024. His four-year B.Tech course was to end in 2028.

Dr Sanjeet Kanungo, principal of Tolani Maritime Institute, described the incident as "very tragic". "A young man lost his life. He was trying to do pull-ups using the basketball hoop when the whole frame collapsed on him and he suffered serious injuries to his forehead. We will investigate what went wrong," he said.

Police said they are probing whether the frame was rusty or there was a major defect in the fittings. Inspector Santosh Patil said a case had been registered and a probe is on.

This comes less than five months after a 16-year-old national-level basketball player died in a similar incident in Haryana's Rohtak. Hardik Rathi was practising in the court when the pole fell forward and crushed him. In the Rohtak tragedy, Hardik was clutching the basket's rim when the pole fell forward, crushing him. Earlier, a 15-year-old died in a similar incident in Haryana's Bahadurgarh district.

The incidents and the loss of lives raise big questions about the maintenance of sports infrastructure in the country.