Young Indian athletes join fight against pandemic
Two table tennis players have joined medical professionals to aid treatment while a 15-year-old golfer has sold his trophies to help the fight against COVID-19.
The coronavirus outbreak has halted the world and with several nations under lockdown, their doctors and medical professionals have been working extra hours to treat patients and get life back to normal.
Athletes have been doing their best, with Sania Mirza and PV Sindhu contributing to national relief funds while some have used their secondary skills to help fight the pandemic in India.
While the big names have used their influence and reach, the less prominent ones were not to be left behind. Two Indian table tennis players, KR Rohit and R Ke Yukti Roshni, both medical interns in Chennai have joined the medical professionals in doing their bit.
“The number of cases are going up. There is a separate block which has been set up for testing and isolation. I was in the emergency ward last week. We are working in turns,” Rohit revealed to The New Indian Express.
The youngster, who was a part of the Indian table tennis contingent at the World Junior Championship in 2013, is currently working round the clock at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai after being granted a one-month extension at his internship.
R Ke Yukti Roshni is also helping out in a similar manner while being posted at the Thanjavur Medical College. A former junior Indian table tennis player who was ranked third in the domestic circuit, she said her experience of dealing with pressure during her playing days was helping her at the treatment table.
Teenagers to the rescue
A nation-wide lockdown may have forced him to stay at home and be away from the sport he loves but for 15-year-old Arjun Bhati, defusing the gravity of the situation holds more value than keeping records of his achievements.
The golfer, a three-time world junior champion who has also won the national championship in India, raised more than four lakh rupees by selling the 102 trophies he has won in his fledgling career.
The kind gestures from millenials like the Noida golfer and the proactive nature of ones like Rohit and Roshni are sure to encourage more youngsters to join in the fight and do their best to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
Donations continue to pour in
Several other athletes and sporting bodies have been contributing financially to help fight the outbreak. This includes the Table Tennis Federation of India, Hockey India, Neeraj Chopra, Apurvi Chandela and the Indian sports minister among many others.
Some athletes have been stepping out on the streets in various capacities to ensure that the spread of the coronavirus is contained and that the underprivileged population is taken care of.