The state of Haryana has been rocked by the death of a young sportsperson once again after 21-year-old Gaurav Jain drowned at the Eklavya Stadium in Jind on Thursday, May 14. A 25-day swimming course ended in tragedy after the aspiring swimmer was found dead inside the pool.
The incident took place at the swimming pool located inside Eklavya Stadium on Safidon Road in Haryana’s Jind district. The distraught family hit out at the authorities, alleging gross negligence.
Following the complaint filed by the victim’s family, Civil Lines police registered an FIR against the pool operator, the coach and members of the management staff.
HARYANA’S SPORTS DEATHTRAP
The deceased has been identified as Gaurav Jain, a resident of Gandhi Gali in Jind. According to his father Sanjay Jain, Gaurav had been attending swimming practice at the stadium for the past 25 days. The family had reportedly paid Rs 3,500 for the course, with training sessions scheduled from 7 pm to 8 pm daily.
Gaurav had gone for practice on Thursday evening but did not return home till around 8.30 pm. Concerned by the delay, family members began searching for him and eventually reached the stadium premises. Sanjay alleged that the family was initially stopped from entering the swimming pool area.
“When we forcibly entered the premises, we saw Gaurav’s body floating in the pool,” Sanjay claimed.
The grieving father further alleged that the pool staff and coach refused to help even after the body was discovered. According to him, he and his nephew had to pull the body out of the water themselves and rush Gaurav to hospital on a motorcycle, where doctors declared him dead.
The family has also levelled serious allegations against the management, claiming that electric current is allegedly released into the pool during cleaning operations. Sanjay alleged that electricity had been passed through the water while his son was swimming, leading to his death.
The incident triggered outrage among family members and local residents, who later met Haryana Deputy Speaker Dr Krishna Midha, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Imran Raza and Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh, demanding immediate arrests in the case.
Civil Lines SHO Pooja confirmed that a case has been registered based on the complaint submitted by the victim’s father. Police said the body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is underway.
VINESH PHOGAT SLAMS HARYANA GOVERNMENT
This is not the first time someone has died at a sporting venue in Haryana in the last 12 months. Back in November 2025, two basketball players were killed after an iron basketball pole collapsed on them during practice.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, one of Haryana’s biggest sporting icons, slammed the state government and local sporting authorities over what she called continued negligence in maintaining sports infrastructure.
In a lengthy post on X, Phogat said the death of Gaurav Jain was “not an ordinary accident” and directly questioned Haryana Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam over the safety standards at the facility.
“When I had raised the demand in the Assembly to build a swimming pool in Ramrai village of Julana constituency, Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam ji had responded that an ‘Olympic-level swimming pool’ already exists in Jind,” Phogat wrote.
“Today, all of Haryana is witnessing the condition of that so-called Olympic-level swimming pool. Fees are charged from athletes, but safety arrangements appear to be non-existent,” she added.
Phogat also questioned the coaching and monitoring systems at the facility, saying the number of athletes using the venue had increased over the years while safety measures remained inadequate.
“This is not the first case. Earlier too, athletes in Haryana lost their lives after being crushed under basketball poles. At that time, instead of taking responsibility, attempts were made to distance the administration from the matter,” she said.
The Olympian further asked who would take responsibility for Gaurav’s death and whether the sports department would once again attempt to avoid accountability.
“It is easy to make speeches and advertisements in the name of sports. Providing a safe environment for athletes is the real responsibility of the government,” Phogat said.
“If stadiums and sports facilities themselves begin taking athletes’ lives, then such a sports model should be a matter of shame.”
– Ends
