Bengaluru: A football pitch can be a dangerous place as the city discovered in 2012 when Bangalore Mars' Venkatesh died at the Bangalore Football Stadium for want of adequate care.
But luck was with Ayush Panchamiya, a 19-year-old player of the Young Challengers FC on Tuesday when he hit his head on the artificial turf after coming off second best in an aerial duel in a Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) A Division league match against Parikrma FC.
As his stunned team mates watched, on-site physiotherapist, Sapeksh Dongre rushed to revive Ayush, who was seizing and foaming at the mouth.
Ayush Panchamiya
"He collapsed after hitting his head on the ground," said Mr Dongre, explaining, "It was a case of tachycardia (rapid heart rate) and I realised that he had suffered a sunstroke. I administered first-aid and gave him Levipil as he was having fits. This tablet is used to treat seizures and brings down the heart rate."
A first B.Com student of St Joseph's College of Commerce, Ayush was soon carried off the field and taken in the on-site ambulance, to St Philomena's Hospital, where doctors ruled him out of danger following a CT scan.
The BDFA has been often accused of neglecting player safety and has only recently started hiring paramedics for its premier Super Division matches. Ayush was the lucky beneficiary.
