Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann meets family members of Hardik Rathi, who died on November 25, 2025, in an accident on a basketball court after the iron pole of a basketball hoop fell on his chest during practice, at his home at Lakhan Majra, in Rohtak district, Haryana, on November 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday (November 27, 2025) ordered a thorough inspection of infrastructure in all sports complexes across the State after a junior national-level player and another teenager died in separate incidents of rusted basket poles collapsing on them.
Hardik and Aman are both residents of Rohtak. While Hardik died at Rohtak’s Lakhan Majra sports stadium on November 25, Aman had suffered fatal injuries at a sports ground inside a school in Bahadurgarh on November 23. Aman died a day later during treatment.
Mr. Saini expressed condolences over the deaths and announced ₹5 lakh as financial assistance to the families of each of the deceased, a statement read.
Several Opposition leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Thursday (November 27, 2025) visited the families of the teenagers.
Mr. Mann, who along with Haryana Aam Aadmi Party president Sushil Gupta, visited Hardik’s family in Lakhan Majra, demanded that the Union Sports Ministry should review the facilities at all sports complexes across the country and address the infrastructure shortage.
Saying that sportspersons were in a state of shock after the twin incidents, Mr. Mann said the poles fell because they were built with sub-standard material and asked who should be held responsible for it. “Advertisements are placed to promote sports, but will such incidents encourage the budding sportspersons?,” he asked.
Blaming the deaths on “criminal negligence of the government”, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, demanded job and financial aid to the next of the kin of the deceased and the registration of a police case against the officials responsible for the maintenance of the stadiums. He also sought action against the officials concerned for failing to utilise ₹18 lakh released by him from his MP fund three years ago for the Lakhan Majra stadium.
Mr. Hooda put forth the demands after meeting the families of the basketball players to express his condolences, saying that demands were based on the sentiments of the two families, and the local residents.
“This is sheer injustice. These two players have not died in a road accident, rather they have lost their lives during practice due to poor infrastructure. This is the criminal negligence on the part of the government. There are media reports about government offering Rs.5 lakh ex-gratia. I totally reject it,” said Mr. Hooda, talking to the media persons.
Blaming the government for neglecting the sports infrastructure in the State, Mr. Hooda claimed that 481 Khel Stadiums were constructed during the ten-year Congress rule, but the BJP neither released any funds for their maintenance during the past eleven years nor constructed new stadiums. “Haryana, which is the mine of sports, has been given only ₹80 crore out of the ₹3,500 crore sports budget by the Government of India. This is an insult to the players and medals of our state. It is injustice to give the least budget from the country’s sports budget to the State that wins more than 50% of the medals in international competitions,” said Mr. Hooda, blaming it for the alleged poor state of sports infrastructure in Haryana.
Indian National Lok Dal president Abhay Singh Chautala demanded a high-level probe into the incident after meeting the family of Hardik.
Haryana Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam too visited the family and assured that justice would be ensured in every circumstance. He said that such negligence would certainly be answered for.
Published – November 28, 2025 12:20 am IST
