Team GB medics are lifesavers after Uzbekistan coach suffers cardiac arrrest

Two members of Team GB’s ­support staff have emerged as Olympic heroes after helping to save the life of the head coach of the Uzbekistan boxing team.

Tulkin Kilichev was ­celebrating a gold medal for Hasanboy Dusmatov in the warm-up area at Roland Garros on Thursday when he ­suffered a cardiac arrest. Fortunately for Kilichev, The GB Boxing doctor Harj Singh, and the physio Robbie Lillis were also in the ­warm-up area and dashed to his aid, with Singh performing CPR and Lillis using a defibrillator.

Lillis said: “The [Uzbek] coaching team came back into the warm-up area and they were all ­celebrating, and then shouting came from that area that wasn’t celebrations at all. There was a cry for a doctor, for help. Harj was the first person who responded and I followed with the emergency trauma bag that we carry with us.

“When I arrived about 30 seconds after Harj, he had already started performing CPR on the coach. Quite a lot of coaches were pretty visibly distressed around the whole ­situation, so it took us a moment to clear all of them out of the way. I opened up the trauma bag, got the defib out, got the pads on him as quickly as possibly. Once that analysed his heart rhythm, it said a shock was advised so we cleared everybody away and gave him a shock.

“Initially he didn’t come back but, about 20 to 30 seconds later, after Harj continued doing CPR, all of a sudden he came back conscious with us, which was great.”

Kilichev was taken to hospital, where he is understood to be in a stable condition. Team GB ­medical staff all do regular training at the UK Sports Institute, including a ­pitch-side trauma course to ­prepare them for such an eventuality.

Lillis said he did not sleep at all on Thursday night after the ­incident. “It was obviously a bit of a rush of adrenaline at that time kind of ­managing the situation,” he said. “I’m obviously grateful to be able to play a part in hopefully helping someone survive.”