All hell breaks loose in PU

Kartik.Sood@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh: A fierce fight broke out between the water polo players of University of Calcutta and Calicut University at Panjab University’s swimming pool — venue for the ongoing All-India Inter-University Aquatics Championship — on Sunday.

The altercation occurred after the semifinal match between the two teams, in which University of Calcutta emerged victorious by a 17-13 margin. But, Calicut University players and manager alleged that the Kolkata team was favoured by the match referees and jury.

During the brawl, a Kolkata team player, Chanchal Das, was nearly choked to death by Calicut University players, before he was saved by his teammates.

Both the teams have been thrown out from the tournament by the organisers — in this case Panjab University’s sports department.

Reacting to the incident, Parminder Singh Ahluwalia, the director of sports in Panjab University (PU), told TOI, “Initially, we were unable to control the brawl that was going on inside the swimming pool. But later, when the players were fighting on the periphery of the pool, we managed to bring the situation under control. I agree it was too late by then.”

“We have received written apologies from both the teams,” Ahluwalia added.

Sharath Enthiraj, a Calicut University player who was involved in the brawl, said that they couldn’t tolerate the “blatant bias” that happed during the match and that’s why lost their cool.

“The game was fixed. It was blatant bias on the part of the referees. They were clearly favouring the Kolkata team. The Kolkata boys were also playing a foul game and constantly provoking our players. We tried to hold on till the end, but after the final whistle when the game ended we lost our cool. Subsequently, we were trying to bring the situation under control but they retaliated and what followed was a total chaos,” said Enthiraj.

Vinod Kumar, the manager of Calicut University, told TOI that the officials did not take cognizance of the fouls committed by the Kolkata boys during the match.

“The officials were biased and were indifferent to the rules, which were being constantly flouted by the Kolkata side. They were hitting our players during the match which was being ignored not only by the referees but even by the jury. We complained about this to the authorities, but they turned a blind eye to our requests,” said Kumar.

“On Saturday as well, the officials were ending a quarter (during the match) according to their own whims and fancies. Normally, a quarter is of eight minutes. But, the referees in order to give advantage to the team of their choice were ending it abruptly,” he added.

Kumar also claimed that his team did not start the fight.

Enthiraj also alleged that there have been several instances of biased decisions during the championship and the organisers have also tampered with the timings in swimming competitions.

“That’s the reason why the two Punjab-based universities — Panjab University, Chandigarh and Punjabi University, Patiala — have been grabbing podium finishes since the championship started,” he added.

Gurcharan Singh, the tournament organizer, rebuffed the allegations levelled by Calicut University players and manager — terming them baseless.

“The different swimming and water polo events have been conducted in a fair manner so far. These allegations (levelled by Calicut University) are baseless,” he said.

Biplav, the manager of University of Calcutta team, accused the Calicut team of planning the attack beforehand.

“We had registered a clear victory in front of everyone. But Calicut being the superior team could not digest an outright defeat and thus the players started attacking our players. Many of our players have been injured severely. The authorities should take appropriate legal action,” he added.