Four national-level hockey players were killed and three others were critically injured in a road accident early on Monday morning in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh.

Police said, Shahnawaz Hussain, Adarsh Hardua, Ashish Lal and Aniket died when their car rammed into a tree near Raisalpur village on the national highway. The players were travelling from Itarsi to Hoshangabad to play in a Dhyanchand Hockey Tournament. Shan Gladwin, Sahil Choure and Akshay Awasthi (Gwalior) are the three injured and have been admitted to a hospital in Hoshangabad. Sources said, the condition of one of the injured is said to be critical.

The four players who passed away were aged between 18 and 22, and all seven were enrolled in the MP Hockey Academy.

Police said the accident took place around 7 am. The driver was reportedly trying to avoid colliding with an oncoming vehicle, lost control and rammed into a tree, which then caused the car to overturn.

The players who died, all in the age group of 18 to 22 years, were identified as Shahnawaz Hussain (from Indore), Adarsh Hardua (Itarsi), Ashish Lal (Jabalpur) and Aniket Varun (Gwalior).

The injured players - Shan Gladwin (Itarasi), Sahil Choure (Itarsi) and Akshay Awasthi (Gwalior) - were admitted to Narmada Apna Hospital in Hoshangabad. All the players were enrolled at Bhopal's MP Hockey Academy.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath expressed grief over the death of hockey players in the accident. “I have directed the officials concerned to extend help to families of the deceased and ensure proper medical treatment of the injured,” he said.

All the victim players had gone to Hoshangabad for playing a tournament along with other team members and their coach. Sources said that it was the birthday of Adarsh and for the celebrations, they had gone to Itarsi. Later, they were returning to Hoshangabad, when the accident took place.