National-level wrestler Vishal Kumar Verma died on Wednesday after he was electrocuted at a waterlogged Jaipal Singh Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, ANI reported on Thursday. He was electrocuted while trying to pump out the water that had collected near the state wrestling body office and fell unconscious.
Verma won gold at the last Jharkhand state competition in both the freestyle and Greco-Roman categories. He had also finished fourth in the 74 kg freestyle event at the last national competition held in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda city.
The wrestler was taken to Sardar Hospital. “He did not respond to treatment and was declared dead,” Jharkhand Wrestling Association Secretary Bhola Nath Singh said, according to the Hindustan Times. “It is an unfortunate incident.”
Singh added that there was waterlogging at the stadium because it was undergoing renovation. The association is believed to have announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for Verma’s family. It will also give them Rs 10,000 every month as the wrestler was the only breadwinner in the family.
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