Former India basketball captain Jagdeep Singh Bains has been through one of the worst phases of his life. His life had come to a standstill after he sustained a career-threatening back injury that left him bedridden for three years. This tragic episode in his life took place during a 3-on-3 tournament in China in 2012. Bains, unfortunately, dropped on the wooden court and was left whining in pain. The former India captain still can't recall what exactly went wrong with his back.
As the 37-year-old once again longingly looks forward to playing for Mumbai Stars in the new Elite Pro Basketball League, he reminisces how a slipped disc left him in a vegetative state for three long years. The 6'6" tall center said his wife was his pillar of strength, helping him through those agonizing days when he felt like crying and ending his life.
Jagdeep Singh Bains opened up on the incident and said:
It was the worst period of my life, I was almost in a vegetative state, barely able to move. The pain was so much that I couldn't bear it. I felt like crying. I had almost contemplated suicide because I didn't want to live like that, I was recently married back then and it was my wife who gave me the strength and she was the only reason I didn't go ahead with committing suicide. I owe her not only my life but everything. If someone had advised me to take the injury seriously, I wouldn't have lost four years of my life and could have given a lot more to the sport I loved.
He concedes that timely advice on the injury could have helped him recover faster. He finally underwent surgery and in three months he was back drawing energy from the courts he once ruled. However, Bains will never forget the pain and agony of being ignored by the national federation under whose banner he played and brought laurels to the country.
