ROHTAK: A 15-year-old canoe athlete, who recently qualified for the national championships, drowned during a training session in a village pond at Karuntha in Rohtak district.
The deceased, whose name was Maya Dhankar, was a resident of Karuntha and was a rising talent in junior rowing. According to her family, Maya has been undergoing swimming and rowing training for the past year at the pond, which serves as a local training center under the Haryana government’s horse nursery programme, run by international medalist and trainer Pooja Dhankar.
The incident happened on Monday evening when Maya arrived at the pond around 5.30pm for her training routine. After completing her rowing training, she attempted to swim across the body of water, which is 150 meters long and 100 meters wide. Witnesses said she began struggling in her deep midsection and called for help.
By the time her fellow trainees and local residents rushed to pull her out, she had taken on a large amount of water.
Maya was rushed to Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. After an autopsy on Tuesday, her body was handed over to her family.
Maya’s father, Jay Prakash, said that his daughter trains rigorously every morning and evening, and dreams of representing India on the world stage. He denied any crime.
Her coach, Pooja, who was present when the incident happened and has trained the village children for free under the state initiative, described Maya as a disciplined and inspiring athlete whose journey from the rural jihad pool to the national stage has motivated many local girls. Maya passed the selection trials in Karnal from May 23-24 for the 36th National Junior and Junior Canoe Championships.
Maya is enrolled in a recognized nursery programme, Rohtak district sports officer Anoop Singh said the sports department is currently collecting details.
Investigating officer Mametesh added that the police are waiting for the final autopsy report, although the initial results definitively point to drowning. Although investigation procedures are ongoing, no case has been registered.
