A 15-year-old canoeing athlete, who recently qualified for the national championships, drowned during a practice session in a village pond in Karontha in Rohtak district.
The deceased, identified as Maya Dhankar, was a resident of Karontha and a rising talent in junior canoeing. According to her family, Maya had been undergoing swimming and canoeing training for the past year at the pond, which functions as a local training hub under the Haryana government’s Khel Nursery Scheme, run by international medallist and coach Pooja Dhankar.
The incident occurred on Monday evening when Maya arrived at the pond around 5.30pm for her routine drills. After completing her canoeing practice, she attempted to swim across the water body, which measures 150 metres in length and 100 meters in width. Witnesses said that she began struggling in the deep middle section and called out for help.
By the time fellow trainees and locals rushed to pull her out, she had taken in a large volume of water.
Maya was rushed to the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Following a post-mortem examination on Tuesday, her body was handed over to her family.
Maya’s father, Jai Prakash, said that his daughter trained rigorously every morning and evening, dreaming of representing India on the global stage. He denied any foul play.
Her coach, Pooja, who was present when the incident occurred and trains village children for free under the state initiative, described Maya as a disciplined, inspiring athlete whose journey from a rural johad (pond) to the national stage motivated many local girls. Maya had cleared the selection trials in Karnal on May 23-24 for the 36th National Canoe Sprint Junior and Sub-Junior Championship.
Rohtak district sports officer Anoop Singh said Maya was registered under the recognised nursery programme and said that the sports department is currently gathering details.
Investigating officer Mamtesh added that police are awaiting the final autopsy report, though preliminary findings conclusively point to drowning. Though inquest proceedings are underway, no case has been registered.
Neeraj Mohan is a correspondent, covering Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Yamunanagar districts of Haryana.