Wednesday, 5 June 2013

No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives

No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives

Sports Desk: The shocking suicide of young actress Jiah Khan has sent shockwaves across the nation. Jiah, whose cause of suicide is being investigated, had worked with leading Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, and had a promising career ahead of her.

Sporting world too is replete of instances where champion sportspeople succumbed to personal problems, peer pressure, drugs or other social factors.

From cricket to athletics, sportspeople have embraced death for a variety of reasons.

Though suicides by athletes is not a regular phenomenon in India, there remains one sportsperson who went for this extreme step.
  
No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives
KD Singh

Kunwar Digvijay Singh, popularly known as KD Singh ‘Babu’ was born in Barabanki town of Uttar Pradesh.  He represented India in hockey with great distinction on international stage, helping it win Olympic Golds in 1948 and 1952.
Vice-captain of the team in 1948 London Olympics and captaining the side in 1952 Helsinki Olympics, KD Singh committed suicide by shooting himself, owing to personal problems.
  
No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives
Claudia Heill

Star Austrian Judoka Claudia Heill committed suicide at the age of 29. She won an Olympic Silver medal in the 2004 Athens edition of sport’s showpiece event.

Claudia jumped to death off her Vienna apartment on March 31, 2011. Whether her death was a suicide or an accident remains a suspense till date.
  
No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives
Elvira Madigan

Hedvig Antoinette Isabella Eleonore Jensen or Elvira Madigan committed suicide after a failed love affair. Elvira, a Danish tightrope walker and trick rider, fell in love with a Swedish cavalry officer, Lieutenant Count Bengt Edvard Sixten Sparre, about ten years elder to her.

Deeply in love with each other, they couldn’t have a fairytale ending since Sparre was already married and father of two.
Dejected, the duo committed suicide.

A Swedish movie by the name of Elvira Madigan was also made in 1967, depicting her unrequited love story.
  
No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives
Karaen Cromie

Rower, wheelchair basketball player and Paralympian, Irish athlete Karen Elizabeth Cromie committed suicide on January 28, 2011.

Cromie, who participated in 2008 Beijing Olympics, won Silver medals in 2005 and 2006 editions of Paralympic Basketball World Cup.
  
No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives
Shelley Beattie

Professional bodybuilder and actress American Shelley Beattie hung herself to death.

She was suffering from depression.
  
No dearth of Jiah Khans in sports: Meet the sporting stars who ended their lives
Erica Blasberg
An American Golfer who played on the LPGA Tour, Erica Paige Blasberg was found dead on May 9, 2010 with a plastic bag tied across her face. She was 25.
The Police declared her death a case of suicide on August 24, 2010.
  

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