Satyaraj Mohan probably was upbeat about his blossoming football fortunes while leaving the Bangalore Football Stadium after a practice session at the State under-21 camp last May. But the 21-year-old’s life took a cruel turn on that fateful day when he met with an accident while pillion-riding a bike.
Satyaraj suffered a severe head injury and after three weeks in hospital, he staggered back to the routines of normal life, but it has never been the same.
Satya, as he is known among his friends and peers, now cannot commit to what he loves the most — playing football — for big enough reasons. The once agile footballer now trudges rather than walks and is a trifle slow even in recollecting his personal mobile number.
His memory fails him in remembering the day of the incident that has changed his life. He often slurs while trying hard to piece together his apparently disjointed thoughts.
Rewind six months, Satya was the play-maker in a young Sports Authority of India (SAI) side that featured in the Bangalore Super Division league. Scoring goals at times and assisting his team-mates at will, the hard-working midfielder was a priceless asset of his team. His swift moves and flashy flicks won the lanky player many admirers on the local circuit.
“Satya was undoubtedly my best player in SAI. He can switch to either offence or defence with ease. When things go wrong, I just needed to shout ‘Satya’ from the sidelines. He knows exactly what to do next and responds with a neat rescue act,” recalls Aslam Khan, who was Satya’s mentor and coach at SAI.
That talent didn’t go unnoticed. “Satya had a good offer from Viva Kerala and he was mulling over the move,” says HASC player Karthigeyan, Satya’s childhood friend and team-mate at his first club Bangalore Mars.
The tragedy befell the talented lad at the most inopportune time. At present, his contract with SAI stands terminated as it was not renewed last April as per his own wish, according to Aslam Khan.
Though he had cited financial constraints and the need for a secure job for discontinuing the SAI stint, his friends say he had high ambitions on making it big in football. Satya certainly has to hold back that dream for sometime at least, for he can’t plunge into competitive football given his current physical and mental state. But, the good news is that he is on the path to recovery.
“Satya suffered a severe head injury called diffuse axonal injury, a case in which there will be numerous minute injuries inside the brain. Fortunately, that has not affected him much physically and he is getting better now,” confirms Dr Swaroop Gopal, neuro-surgeon at Manipal hospital, who is treating Satya.
“But, the next couple of months are certainly going to be critical to get him back into football. Occupational rehabilitation for regaining physical strength and psychological training for retrieving the onfield skills should be provided for the next six months. No medicine can help now,” adds Gopal.
Dr Gopal puts the expenditure of the prescribed treatment at around Rs 20,000 per month. Hailing from an economically weaker background, Satya cannot afford the cost. His father is a daily-wager while his mother, who was working as a house-maid abroad, has returned home.
Financial help is hard to come from SAI as Satya is no longer on their payroll but Aslam Khan assures he is trying to get some aid.
Every time Satya visits the Bangalore Football Stadium to watch the proceedings from the stands, he is eager to get back onto the field and take centre stage as usual.  “Whenever my doctor says I am fully fit to play, I will be back,” says an optimistic Satya. Hopefully, those loud cries of ‘Satya’ from his team-mates awaiting a pass upfront will soon reverberate around the grounds again.