The 23-year-old kickboxer sustained head injuries at a competition in Bengaluru on 10 July, and succumbed to them on 13 July.
Nikhil succumbed at Yeshwanthpur’s Manipal hospital due to severe internal bleeding and head injury. Credit: (Creative Commons)
The family of kickboxer Nikhil Suresh, who died Wednesday, 13 July, of injuries sustained while fighting in a local competition in Bengaluru, have blamed the organisers for his death.
The 23-year-old boxer Nikhil, a resident of Hoskeri in Mysuru, was a participant in the kickboxing competition organised by the K-1 Karnataka Kickboxing Association on 9-10 July at the Jnanabharathi locality of the city.
During a bout on 10 July, Nikhil sustained a severe injury to his head and fell unconscious. He was admitted to the GM Hospital in Nagarbhavi and later shifted to Manipal Hospital in Yashwanthpur.
Nikhil succumbed to his injuries a little past midnight on the intervening night of 12 and 13 July due to severe internal bleeding and head injuries, according to his family.
In a complaint to the Bengaluru City Police, Nikhil’s father Suresh alleged that the venue of the kickboxing competition had inadequate services and did not have any on-site emergency facilities.
Nikhil used to train at the Academy of Martial Science, a camp in Mysuru known to offer training in kickboxing, Muay Thai, and MMA.
Suresh, who himself teaches karate in Mysuru, told South First: “The kickboxing event was held under inappropriate conditions. The ring was small, and the sponge mat — on which Nikhil fell and sustained his head injury — was too thin.”
Suresh was informed about Nikhil’s injuries on the evening of 10 July.
Accompanied by his son’s coach Vikram, he reached the GM Hospital the same day.
“The organisers did not arrange for medical facilities at the site for contestants. The event happened without an ambulance, oxygen setup, paramedics, stretcher, etc,” Suresh alleged.
In his complaint, Suresh contended that Nikhil was carried by other contestants from the fifth floor of the venue and transported to the hospital in an SUV, instead of paramedics handling him and using an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He was also not given oxygen on time, Suresh added.
Suresh has filed a case at the Jnanabharathi Police Station against Naveen Ravishankar, head coach of K-1, as well as the organisers of the event, under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code which pertains to causing death by negligence.
Suresh alleged that Ravishankar and the organisers are absconding.
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