Doctors have said the judo player will never be able to play again.[break] Besides the anguish of being crippled, what troubles him more is the apathy from the state and the fake promises made by sports officials.
“We are considered players as long as we can contribute to the nation. Nothing remains after that,” the bronze medalist of the South Asian Judo Championships 2008 shared his bitter experience.
The 28-year-old Tamang, who was injured along with eight other Nepali players on January 29, says that Nepal´s then chef-de-mission Hari Babu Chaudhari had assured him in Dhaka that he would leave no stone unturned to help him.
Tamang recalled Chaudhari as saying that the injured players would get such an honor which they would have never imagined.
The national champion, who joined the Nepal Army in 2002, said he was also promised not to be left out in any front. Chaudhari had reportedly said, “You will be treated like medalists.”
Tamang says that the authorities at the National Sports Council (NSC) only pay lip service to them now. Nepal Judo Association has also not taken any initiative to help him besides providing Rs 5,000.
The comforting words of sports officials have turned out to be a hollow promise as the injured player has not received a single penny from the state for treatment while all other medalists have received cash prizes.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on April 11 handed over two different checks worth one million rupees each to SAG record holder Deepak Bista, who has bagged four consecutive golds from the eighth to the 11th editions of the regional event.
A cabinet meeting of the incumbent government on March 3 had decided to provide one million rupees for the treatment of Bista, but has overlooked Tamang whose condition is much more severe than that of Bista.
The same cabinet meeting had also decided to bear the medical expenses of the players injured in Dhaka, but the government has not kept its word.
It has been three weeks since NSC formed a medical board under the directives of the Youth and Sports Ministry to assess the medical costs of the injured players to compensate them. However, the board headed by Dr Ajay Rana is yet to receive a formal letter to begin the assessment.
Coincidentally, both Bista and Tamang suffered damage to knee ligaments. Bista´s ACL and PCL ligaments were completely damaged while Tamang suffered from smashed ACL, PCL and LCL ligaments.
Although NSC has not released budget for any of the injured players, the Army Hospital has been providing Tamang free treatment after a successful surgery in Dhaka.
The main hassle Tamang faced was transportation as he could not walk for months but had to attend physiotherapy at any cost. Tamang is still undergoing physiotherapy, sometimes at the Army Hospital and sometimes at the Sports Medicine and Research Center of NSC.
“At first I thought I´d never be able to walk again. My leg didn´t move at all,” said the robust armyman who recently started walking on his own.
Tamang has been recuperating, but Dr Ajay Rana at NSC says that he will never recover fully.
“His ligaments were completely damaged. If he plays again, he will be risking further injury. He can´t give 100 percent performance,” said Rana.
However, Tamang wants to take the chance as he has realized that playing again is the only way to recover his lost glory.
He would possibly be playing half-heartedly, though. “I don´t want to play anymore after all that has happened and the way I was treated,” he said.
“The only reason I want to play again is to keep the name of my club which has been supportive in times of need,” added the dejected player.
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