Two young athletes were found dead inside a Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Kollam, Kerala, triggering serious concerns over athlete welfare and institutional accountability. The incident came to light early Thursday morning when the girls failed to report for their routine 5 a.m. training session.
The deceased have been identified as Sandra, an 18-year-old track and field athlete from Calicut, and Vaishnavi, a 16-year-old kabaddi player from Thiruvananthapuram. Fellow hostel residents reportedly went to check on them after their absence from training and discovered both athletes hanging in Vaishnavi’s hostel room.
Police officials confirmed that a suicide note signed by both athletes was recovered from the room. According to the Station House Officer of the Kollam East Police Station, the note contained an apology addressed to their parents for taking the extreme step. The officer added that no formal complaints or suspicions have been raised by the families so far, and the matter remains under investigation.
Authorities clarified that Sandra and Vaishnavi were not roommates, and both were found hanging from separate ceiling fans in the same room. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem examination, and while suicide is being investigated as a possibility, police have not ruled out foul play at this stage.
The incident has also drawn reactions from former SAI personnel. Anil Kumar, former Indian men’s 100m national record holder, who was previously associated with the SAI centre in Kollam as a coach, expressed concerns over the environment at the institution. Anil stated that he had resigned from his position four years ago due to what he described as persistent harassment.
“I resigned from there because of the same issues. Harassment. If a coach cannot work there, you can imagine the situation,” Anil said, urging authorities to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation. When contacted for further comments, officials at the Kollam East Police Station declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
