Guwahati: Promising Karate player Sangio Jomin and boxer Amak Sonam of Arunachal Pradesh are battling for life in two hospitals of Assam after suffering grievous injuries in a freak accident on June 5.
It has been learnt that another athlete, Heema Khoda, was released from the hospital after receiving stitches while the fourth one, Amak’s brother, who was also in the vehicle, fractured his hand and sustained injuries on the head but has been released from the local hospital.
The three teenagers were trainees at the Sports Authority of India’s (Special Training Centre) at Naharlagun and were on their way to seek admission to their respective schools when the scooter they were riding collided with a parked truck at Naharlagun.
EastMojo reached out to Amak’s elder brother, Dadi Sonam, who said that his younger brother, who stays in Itanagar, had come down to Naharlagun to pick up his sister and her two friends and on their way, the vehicle’s brakes failed resulting in the accident.
“Amak was studying at the KV 2 in Naharlagun but it was difficult for her to manage studies with her boxing career so she wanted to get admitted to another school near her training centre. She had discussed it with the family, and I asked my younger brother, who lives in Itanagar, to help her get the transfer certificate from the school so that she can apply for admission to the new school,” Dadi said.
“On Monday, my brother came to Naharlagun to pick her up and the other girls also had some similar work so they wanted to tag along. My brother picked up the trio and on their way, the brakes stopped functioning and eventually, the scooter hit a truck parked on the road,” he explained.
Both Sangio and Amak sustained severe injuries on their face, and are fighting for life with multiple stitches on their forehead, nose and lips.
“The players were on their way to seek admission to their schools, and on the way their scooter hit a parked truck in Naharlagun on Monday. Both the players are currently in the Intensive Care Unit and we are closely monitoring their medical condition. We are in constant touch with the hospitals and we will keep updating their medical status from time to time,” STC Naharlagun in-charge Inkamlak Newmai Zeliang told EastMojo.
The 16-year-old Jomin had won a karate gold medal in the All India Inter-SAI tournament, held in Imphal in April this year. Born to the late Sangio Tashok Rughu, the young Jomin from the Kra Daadi district won a gold medal at the 6th international karate championships in Kolkata last year.
While Jomin was referred to a private hospital in Dibrugarh and is still in a non-responsive state, Amak, who had participated at the sub-junior national boxing championships in Karnataka, last year, and ended as a quarterfinalist at the Asian Championship trials at Rohtak, been referred to a private hospital in Guwahati for maxillofacial surgery.
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“Amak is still critical and we are hoping for the best. She is on ventilation support at the moment. The doctors are monitoring her. She will need surgery, her condition is very serious. The officials of SAI visited us today and assured us of help,” Dadi said.
EastMojo also unsuccessfully attempted to reach Boni Jomin, the elder brother of karate player Sangio.
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