Saira Sirohi, a national-level swimmer, an immensely talented Olympic aspirant, a promising young achiever from Ghaziabad, is no more. She was a student of Humanities in 11th standard in the reputable Delhi Public School of Ghaziabad. She was the girl who had bagged many honors and medals for her school and state by the age of sixteen. At eight, she swam 15 hours continuously, covering a distance of 38 kilometers, and made a new record.
She hanged herself at her residence in Ghaziabad on Monday.
But what led her to commit suicide?
Last Sunday night, Saira drank her milk and retired to her room. She was last seen with her 11 years old younger sister. She was working on her cell phone as her sister went to sleep. The next day, very early in the morning, around 1:30 am Saira’s father, Jaideep Sirohi, woke up hearing the screams of his younger daughter. When he reached there, he found Saira hanging from the ceiling fan in the room.
The family was shaken and informed of the incident to the police. According to the post-mortem report, the police said that the death was caused due to hanging, and no other injuries were observed. However, they did not find a suicide note on the spot. Nothing, no clues, no evidence were recovered to fathom the reason behind such an extreme step. Saira’s close friends and relatives were in a state of shock and still struggled to believe and face it. Her parents did not know of a viable reason for their daughter’s suicide.
The reason behind this drastic move remains unknown. Neither the police nor the parents have come forward to make any official statement. According to Saira’s coach, she was under pressure from her school for upcoming exams and she was not regular on training for the last one month due to her academics.
On Monday, she was scheduled for a unit test, but nothing amiss about her behavior. According to the school principal, Saira had a backlog due to her irregularity in school, but she had no pressure from the school. The school was proud and happy for her achievements. She last attended her school on Saturday and was cheerful. The school understood and supported Saira’s passion for swimming and was ready to conduct tests whenever she wanted to sit with them.
Although Saira’s death remains mysterious, her death is a very unfortunate incident that shook the very structure of the country. The nation has lost a bright and talented star. She was an achiever and had won many awards and appreciations.
Saira won three gold medals at the CBSE National Championship held in Meerut last year. She had set a new record in the 50 m breaststroke event. She had stunned everyone for swimming 15 hours non-stop and had even received praises from the Asian silver medalist Khazan Singh.
According to her coach, Saira could represent India and was one of the most hard-working swimmers in the country. She also wanted to participate in the Olympics.
R.I.P. Saira. The country mourns your loss.