14-year-old girl dies after boxing bout

The Class 9 student was participating in the ‘Khelo India Boxing Competition and was pitted against another local girl, conducted under the National Programme for Development of Sports. 

Mareeswari, who was untrained in boxing, was taken by her family members to participate in the tournament after her uncle Subburaj, who claimed to be a boxer, had given her intense coaching for the past week after he was allegedly inspired by a movie. 

On Friday morning, Subburaj took Mareeswari along with her mother to the venue and the girl participated in her first match under the midday sun. “She sparred for about two minutes in the first round and was taking rest during the break when she collapsed after asking for water. 

Officials at the venue immediately asked her kin to rush the teenager to the nearest hospital,” said SDAT officials. When Mareeswari was rushed to a private hospital, doctors advised the family to take her to the Thoothukudi GH where she was declared dead. 

Following the incident, Thoothukudi Sub Collector Deepak Jacob, visited the spot and carried out inspection with District Sports Officer, Theerthos who claimed that the girl was mentally and physically unfit for the match. 

“Nowadays, training is given by individual coaches in houses, academies and schools and they do not ensure that the boxers are mentally and physically prepared,” he said. Speaking to DTNext, Subburaj said, “No firstaid was provided to Mareeswari and if it was administered she would have survived.”