Emergency eye operation rules Baljit out of European tour

The goalkeeper suffered a rupture in his globe when he was hit in the right eye by a golf ball during yesterday's training session in Pune with goalkeeping coach Romeo James.
The 28-year-old Chandigarh keeper has been replaced by PR Sreejesh in the 22-member squad for the four-week long tour, where India is scheduled to play 12 Test matches against England, Belgium, Spain and Holland.

Ultrasonography tests carried out in Pune showed the globe to have shrunken and deformed with the intra-ocular contents showing heterogeneous appearance with hemorrhage in the vitreous. The rupture has damaged the retina, cornea and lens of Baljit's right eye.

Baljit was airlifted to Delhi airport from Pune early this morning, from where an ambulance took him to the AIIMS for the three-hour long operation by a team of surgeons led by cornea specialist Dr Sudershan Khokhar.

Meanwhile, Hockey India Secretary General Mohd Aslam Khan has requested Union Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi to provide best possible treatment to the custodian.

Although the operation was successful, AIIMS sources felt Baljit's chances of getting his vision back looked slim.