KUALA LUMPUR: Legendary Indonesian goalkeeper Choirul Huda died yesterday following a collision with teammate during the Indonesian Super League match.
The 38-year-old Persela custodian had rushed out of his goal to foil an attack by an opposition player but couldn’t avoid oncoming defender Ramon Rodrigues towards the end of the first half match against Semen Padang at Surajaya Stadium.
Indonesian newsportal Kompas reported that following the collision, Huda appeared to move normally while holding his jaw before his condition deteriorated.
Medics rushed onto the field and he was stretchered off the field while given oxygen masks to ease breathing.
“Huda was conscious and complained of chest pain, before passing out,” a medical officer was quoted by Indonesian newsportal Surya.
However, things turned critical and Huda was rushed to the Dr Soegiri Lamongan General Hospital in Lamongan where he was declared dead at 5.15pm local time in the company of his teammates.
“He was still breathing when he was brought to hospital,” Dr Zaki Mubarok of Dr Soegiri Lamongan General Hospital told Kompas adding the death cause was due to trauma to the head and neck.
“Through our analysis, it was due to collision in the head and neck,” added Mubarok.
A statement posted on the club website quoting Dr Yudistiro Andri Nugroho, from the same hospital, said Huda suffered a traumatic collision which stopped his breathing and heart.
It added initial analysis revealed impact was to the chest and lower jaw, resulting the possibility of chest, head and neck trauma.
The local boy who had kept guard for Persela since 1995 was laid to rest last night at Pagerwojo cemetery, not far from his home in Lamongan, East Java.
Meanwhile, among those mourning the death of the keeper dubbed “One Man, One Club, One Love” was Selangor’s Andik Vermansah,who took to Instagram to express his sadness.
“innalillahi wainalillahi rojiun, sepak bola Indonesia berduka selamat jalan kawan, semoga amal ibadahnya diterima disisiNYA,” (loosely translated as “Innalillahi wainalillahi rojiun, Indonesian football mourns, goodbye my friend, May your good deeds be accepted by the Almighty).
Huda joins the unfortunate list of players who died while playing in the Indonesian league including Eri Irianto, Sekou Camara, Akli Fairuz, and Jumadi Abdi.