The family of Pranav Madhaik is still coming to terms with the sudden void in their lives after the Singapore Sports School (SSP) student died early this week.
Even as he searches for closure, Mr Prem Singh Madhaik wants lessons to be learnt from his son’s death and hopes that no other family will suffer the same fate.
Pranav, a Secondary 2 student from SSP’s badminton academy, had felt unwell after completing a 400m fitness time trial on Oct 5. The 14-year-old, who was also in the national intermediate squad, was then taken to National University Hospital, where he died on Wednesday.
SSP said on Wednesday that it will investigate the incident, thoroughly review its safety protocols and keep parents updated. It added that as investigations are ongoing, it cannot provide further details.
Mr Madhaik, 51, told The Straits Times in an interview at the family’s home on Friday: “SSP has not given me any information. I want to know what exactly happened. We want to ensure that this doesn’t happen to any other child.
“It’s important to know that there will be measures put in place by the school which can prevent similar issues in future. This is not something small. A life has been lost and we must learn something.
“As parents, we put our son under their care and this has happened. We want this to be a learning lesson for everyone.”
Mr Madhaik said he is hoping for answers to several questions when he meets the school’s representatives on Friday evening. He is expected to be given a preliminary report on what happened to his son on Oct 5.
He wants to know if there was sufficient supervision during the fitness activity, why his son had been taken to NUH and not a nearer hospital, given the need for immediate attention, and if there were any medical specialists on-site.
The school is in Woodlands, and the closest hospital is Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. NUH is in Kent Ridge, in south-western Singapore.
He said: “If we have a proper system in place there itself, we could have prevented this type of issue. The SSP is producing national players, so training is intense.
"They should have something there itself to handle the immediate emergencies, rather than having to wait for the ambulance and by the time you get there, the athlete is no more.”
ST has reached out to SSP for a response.
Mr Madhaik and his wife were at home last Thursday when they received a call informing them that “something had happened to Pranav” and that he was being taken to NUH.
Upon reaching the hospital, they saw that cardiopulmonary resuscitation was being performed on Pranav.
The doctor attending to Pranav told the parents their son’s pulse and heartbeat were very weak. The teen was subsequently put on life support, until the family decided on Wednesday to take him off it.
Mr Madhaik said he had stayed by his son’s side throughout his time in hospital.
“He never moved, he never spoke. By the end, his organs had failed one by one, and we spoke to the doctor and took the decision,” said Mr Madhaik, who has two other sons aged 13 and 17.
Mr Madhaik, an engineer, said that Pranav was healthy and had even played for more than five hours at some youth tournaments. But during a mandatory medical check-up at a hospital prior to joining SSP in 2022, Pranav was found to have had a “low blood count”, which could cause him to feel more tired than others during similar activities.
He was referred to a specialist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and was given medication.
The last time Mr Madhaik spoke to Pranav was on Oct 1, when his son told him he was looking forward to representing Singapore at the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships in China from Oct 17 to 22.
Mr Madhaik described Pranav as obedient and someone that “never complained or demanded anything from us”.
He added: “It is a big loss for us as parents, and it’s a loss for the country. He was always so happy and positive. He would never be negative.
“Even if he lost a game badly, he would tell me, ‘Next time, I’m going to do better’. He was so determined to play badminton professionally for Singapore.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
