Chamod Kavindu: Human cost of college rugby program

Chamod Kavindu, is a prime example of the human cost of the Royal College rugby program, much in the news recently, since Daily FT’s exposure based on complaints of parents of the 1st XV squad of 2024. 

A student from humble beginnings, his rugby performance in the junior tournaments landed him an invitation to play for Royal College with a sports scholarship. The only son in his family, there were high hopes that the boy moving to Royal College would do well and uplift the whole family.  The pre-season training at the Royal College Sports Complex, under Head Coach Dushanth Lewke’s, “old boys and invited opposition” practice session, not only ended his playing career, but left him requiring brain surgery, and partial paralysis of his right side, which persists to this day and still requires treatment. 

The school authorities, the Royal OBU Rugby Advisory Committee and the team management have all washed their hands off. The story of Chamod Kavindu in his own words. 

Q Could you please introduce yourself for the benefit of our readers?

A: My name is Chamod Kavindu. I sat for my O/Ls at Veluwana College Dematagoda, following which I obtained a sports scholarship at Royal College, Colombo. I joined Royal College during the rugby mid-season in 2017, and therefore could not play for the 1st XV that year. I commenced playing for the 1st XV since 2018.

Q: Please describe to us, what happened to you at the practice session at Royal?

A: On the ill-fated day of 23 January 2019, I was at a practice session with Army players. I received a hard blow to my head that put me out of play for a while, and was checked by the physio. A while later, we were asked to practice one-on-one tackles, but I was not feeling so good. I went up to Lewke sir and informed him that I am unable to proceed with the drill, as my head was still hurting and I feel nauseous. However, he profoundly refused my request and sternly directed me to go on with the drill. The second blow occurred when I attempted a tackle, where the right side of my head collided with the knee of a Royal old boy, and then I blacked out. I woke up only on the following day after the first surgery was completed.

Q: Care to share the details of your medical condition and the procedures performed on you?

A: The first surgery, which was a craniotomy, was performed on the same night itself due to internal bleeding and swelling of the brain, where a part of my skull was removed to relieve pressure on the swelled brain. I was at the hospital for nearly 10 days following the procedure. The surgery was covered by the insurance obtained for the College Rugby players. No one from the Royal College administration checked up on me, with regard to my welfare, recovery or treatment after the initial surgery. I have suffered much emotional pain, disappointment, and a sense of being used and discarded, since my coach and mentor Lewke sir, to whom I’ve never given anything short of my best, never visited me after his first and only visit to the hospital on the day that I was admitted. 

Since I could not be taken back to my flat on the 8th floor following the discharge from the hospital, the parents of the rugby team got me a house in Colombo 5, where I stayed for nearly two years. The second surgery was performed eight months later, to replace the part of my skull that was taken out earlier with a titanium plate, which was also covered by the insurance. The second surgery was possible only because the 2019 rugby captain’s father intervened, chased up with the Royal bodies to arrange the procedure for me. 

Q: Did you have to take medication between the two surgeries?

A: I had to visit the hospital for treatment, physiotherapy, scans, etc. twice a month between my first and second surgeries. As the insurance covered only in-patient treatments, I sought help from the school, but I never got any support from them. Once the schools Rugby season commenced in 2019, I was there at every practice and match day to encourage and motivate my team, although my playing days were over. I gave my utmost support during the season for my team in any way I possibly could, due to the close bond I had with my team, and because I loved my team a lot. I also wanted to help them win the League. During this period, I spoke to my team Manager Supun Warnakulasooriya a number of times, regarding the financial requirements for my ongoing treatment. He said he will check with the relevant bodies and get back to me, but it never happened. Fortunately, some parents of Royal College donated funds to my account, which I utilised to pay for these treatments.

Q: Didn’t you talk to anyone else seeking help inside Royal?

A: Soon after my injury, Rohan Sourjah, an old boy of Royal who lives in the USA, initiated a campaign to collect funds for my prolonged treatment via “gofundme” popularised by an FB post. The remittances were possibly directed to the RC rugby committee, but I have not received any part of it, to this day.

I reached out to Lewke sir via WhatsApp in January 2023 when I commenced ayurvedic treatment, to get some financial assistance, but he never responded to any of my messages. Then I relayed the message to the 2019 captain, and although he promised that he would help me get some assistance from Royal, it never worked out.

Q: Can you explain the nature of the practice sessions at Royal College?

A: Royal College conducts rugby camps every now and then. We have to stay in school for 30 days straight with practices every single day. We begin the day at 6:30 a.m. with a field session that lasts 3-4 hours, followed by a video session and two and a half hours of gym time. Then we end the day with another two hours of on-field practice session that goes up to 6:30 p.m. We are made to play hard during the practice sessions and I love it, but there is no ambulance or any other vehicle on standby to rush the injured to the hospital. We are often asked to continue with the practice with the injuries we sustain. We play with Army Rugby players who are usually double our size. Almost all the injuries that the players incur at Royal College occur during practice sessions, and not during the actual games. 

Q: Are you taught to engage safely when playing hard?

A: We are taught to engage safely, especially during tackles at the trainings, but are expected to defend by hook or by crook during the hard practice sessions. If we fail, then we are either out of the team or are subjected to an even harder practice session. Apart from rugby coaching, we are encouraged to fight like soldiers during both attack and defence, and are taught a few questionable deeds on how to accomplish this. This encouragement and the green light given by the head coach was sufficient for us to come up with our own ideas to use similar acts as battle weapons, whenever our rugby skills were not good enough to get ahead. A few times when these acts were caught on camera, they went viral on social media, but we were never asked to stop what we were doing, although it affected the prestige of the school.

Q: What was your physical condition after the incident?

A: I was paralysed on my right side after the surgery. I could not use my right hand and could not walk because I could not lift my right leg. The right side of my face drooped and my head dropped to a side as well. The Western medicine and physiotherapy didn’t help improve my mobility. So I commenced ayurvedic treatment in January 2023 and it has improved my condition significantly to a point I can run and play recreational soccer. After five years since the incident, I am still unable to write or even shake hands with my right hand. Operating a vehicle is totally out of the question at this point. Fortunately, I see dramatic improvements with the ayurvedic treatment that I began almost two years ago, and I intend to continue it until I could fully function as I was born to.