Rohtak: A 15-year-old national-level canoeist from Rohtak died during a practice session in a village pond, with police awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death.Maya Dhankhar, a resident of Karontha village, was practising in the pond on Sunday evening when she reportedly suffered a heart attack and drifted into deep water. Local residents rushed to rescue her, but she could not be saved.Maya had recently returned from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, where she participated in a national canoeing championship, and was preparing for upcoming competitions.Family members said she had gone to the pond around 5.30 pm for routine practice. After completing canoeing drills, she attempted to swim across the pond, which is over 100 metres wide and around 150 metres long. While crossing it, she reportedly began struggling midway and cried out for help.Rohtak district sports officer Anoop Singh confirmed that Maya was training under a recognised sports nursery programme.“The department received information that a female athlete drowned while practising in the pond. She was associated with the Khel Nursery programme,” he said.Her trainer, Pooja Dhankhar, described her as a talented athlete whose journey from a village pond to national-level competition had inspired many other girls to take up the sport.Police said preliminary findings suggest drowning, but the exact cause of death will be known only after the autopsy report is received.
