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On Saturday, April 24, the Indian poker community got a stern reminder about the ferocity of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that`s sweeping across the nation. Unfortunately, driving the message home was news of the untimely death of a young and active poker player, Aman Kejriwal, who passed away at the age of 32 from complications arising out of COVID-19.
Kolkata-born Aman Kejriwal was well known in poker circles. He was a passionate poker player with over ₹1.21 Crores in online winning (₹12.46 Lakhs in net winnings) and a litany of live cashes to his name.
According to his poker friends, Kejriwal divided his time judiciously between his business activities and poker. Kejriwal ran the Bokara-headquartered Quality Rubber Industries, where he manufactured all kinds of rubber products.
As informed by his good friend & fellow poker player, Prashant Jain Bhutoria, Kejriwal had tested positive for COVID-19 in Bokaro on April 19. He was doing fine the first few days, but his condition started deteriorating on April 23. The rapid decline forced the family to rush him to a hospital in Durgapur on April 24. “There is no good medical facility in Bokaro. We were taking him to Durgapur, but he passed away right in front of the hospital,” informs Bhutoria.
Kejriwal is survived by his parents, wife, and two siblings, an elder brother in Mumbai, and a twin sister who lives in Singapore.
As his family mourns his loss, the news has saddened the entire poker community. The news of his passing brought about an outpouring of condolences on social media.
Players like Unnikrishnan Nair shared fond memories of Kejriwal. “Oh god, Prashant, remember our last FT together in Goa and how he built up from such a short stack, what an amazing, happy guy, I am speechless, goodbye Aman, I am sure u will be missed by every single one who has ever known u ”
Another friend Shobhit Gupta wrote, “It is very sad…he was a very dear friend of Mine…. and we learned Playing poker together ….. RIP Aman Kejriwal U were not meant to Leave us so Early. RIP Brother”
Prashant Jain Bhutoria, who was the first one to report about Kejriwal`s passing, reminisced – “I’ve known Aman since nearly a decade, but we started working together for the last two years. He was a very jovial and genuine guy who always talked a lot about his family and dreams. He was a friend with a golden heart and someone you could turn to in need. Poker was his passion, and he worked for it. He was so happy since he had just booked his Beamer! I will always miss him, and he will always be special in my heart.”
Poker Was Aman Kejriwal`s Passion
Kejriwal’s proclivity for poker was ignited at a very young age, as he started playing the game with cousins when still in school. As the years went by, Kejriwal got more involved in poker. His first live cash dates back to April 2015 when Kejriwal made it to Goa for the India Poker Championship (IPC). He sailed into the final table of the ₹5,750 NLHE Freezeout, eventually placing fifth for ₹85,000.
“For him, poker was his passion and highest qualification,” recalls Bhutoria.
Kejriwal got married on December 9, 2016, and decided to start playing poker more seriously just a year later. While he was occupied with running his rubber-manufacturing unit in Bokaro, he was equally active on the virtual felts and put in decent volume playing online MTTs.
Las Vegas was Kejriwal’s favorite poker destination, informs Bhutoria, and he participated at the 2019 WSOP – even cashing in two bracelet events.
Ironically, it was almost exactly a year ago when Kejriwal championed The Ballers on for ₹6.27 Lakhs – his career-best finish to date. His last recorded score was on April 16, when he min-cashed the Trending Thursday on Spartan Poker for ₹13,387.
It deeply saddens us to learn that we will no longer get to report on him in our daily updates any longer. From the entire PokerGuru family, we extend heartfelt condolences to Kejriwal’s loved ones and friends. RIP.