Spent night under sky: Bhiwani footballer

Sat Singh

Tribune News Service

Bhiwani, April 27

It was around 12 noon. The under-14 girls’ team from India was getting ready in the dressing room for a match with Iran at Dasarath stadium in Kathmandu when the earthquake struck.

As everything shook around them, lights went out spelling chaos in the room. The team coach asked everyone to move out into the open ground quickly. The structure suffered partial damage in the quake.

Samiksha Jakhar (14) from Alakhpura village of the district was part of the team that had been in Kathmandu since April 18 for the Asian Football Confederation’s Regional Championship.

“We remained stranded there for around five hours since the entrance had been blocked by debris. We were so scared that we refused to sleep inside the hotel room. We spent the night under the sky in the hotel compound,” recalled Samiksha.

“After having witnessed destruction around us, none of us could sleep as we spent the night praying for our safe return home,” she said. “The Nepalese authorities were very helpful as they provided us with food and transport,” she said.

Anil Jakhar, the girl’s father, said: “We were really worried about the well-being of my daughter. The devastation shown on the television only made things worse.”

Jakhar, a farmer, said: “We heaved a sigh of relief after receiving Samiksha at the Delhi airport on Sunday evening”. She along with others was brought home by a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force.