Jigme Gyaljen Lama, 15, an eighth grader at Mangaldeep Secondary School, Bauddha, fell unconscious while trying to collect an aerial ball during a match against Prabhat Secondary School. [break]
The doctor at the venue rushed Lama to B & B Hospital at Satdobato within 10 minutes of the incident, but he was declared dead on arrival.
"The game was in the 30th minute and Lama tried to collect an aerial ball, but he fell without touching it. The referee called me onto the ground. When I first saw him, there was no movement of the pupils. I sensed danger and sent him to hospital by ambulance as soon as possible," said Dr Raju Dangol, who was at the venue.
"He was declared dead at the hospital," he added.
Dr Dangol said that Lama might have suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. "We have to see his previous health record. There may be different reasons involved. We have to wait for a postmortem report to reach any conclusion," he said.
Lama, who was from remote Trok VDC in Gorkha district, was living in the school hostel.
Jhabindra Kumar Subedi, vice-principal of the school, claimed that Lama´s previous case history did not suggest any problem. "We are shocked by the incident. It happened suddenly; we could not save him though we rushed him to hospital," Subedi said.
According to Subedi, Lama was a talented student. "He was better than average in studies and excellent in art and sports," he said. "He was a disciplined and talented student; the school mourns his loss," he added.
According to Jigme Gyaljen Lama´s sports teacher Wangdu Lama, he used to play from the right wing though he was capable of playing in all positions. "I´m in sorrow. He was a talented footballer. Speed was his weapon during matches," said Wangdu Lama.
Mangaldeep is a boarding school established by Buddhist guru Thrangu Rinpoche in 1987 to educate children living in poverty in the Himalayan and hill region.
Lama´s father lives in Trok, near the base of Mt Manaslu, and it takes at least four days to reach Kathmandu. Lama´s mother died years ago.
Chief of Metropolitan Police Range Lalitpur SP Bikram Thapa said the body has been sent for postmortem and they are waiting for the report before making further investigations.
Following Lama´s death, All Nepal Football Association, organizer of the Coca-Cola Cup, has called off the tournament matches until further notice. "We are shocked over the death; we are waiting for a doctor´s report. We have called off the matches until further notice," said ANFA Vice-president Lalit Krishna Shrestha.
This is the first case in Nepal of a player collapsing during a match though a few such incidents have been seen in world football. Mark Vivian Foe of Cameroon, Hungary´s Miklos Feher and Antonio Puerta of Spain died after collapsing during matches.
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