NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, APRIL 3
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday turned to India’s sporting heroes for their support for the government’s herculean battle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and more than 40 accomplished champions such as Virat Kohli and P V Sindhu responded by vowing to raise awareness and spirits amid a national lockdown.
Interacted with sportspersons via video conferencing on the situation arising due to COVID-19. Sports requires self-discipline, tenacity, teamwork and a fighting spirit. These are also required to defeat Coronavirus. #IndiaFightsCorona https://t.co/OuWHisdaVX
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 3, 2020
The athletes, along with sports minister Kiren Rijiju, participated in nearly an hour-long video call which started at 11 am. The country is in a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
From Sachin Tendulkar stressing on the need to keep the vigil even after the lockdown ends on April 14, to sprinter Hima Das expressing sadness at the recent attacks on frontline warriors such as health care workers and police officers, to others sharing their experience of being in a lockdown, the sportspersons had lots to offer during the interaction. All these athletes have been generous donors to the funds being raised to fight the crisis.
The Prime Minister, on his part, sought their support to raise awareness about the need for social distancing and personal hygiene at a time when the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India has crossed 2,000 on Friday.
“Your suggestions will be taken note of. We are fighting this pandemic like Team India. I am confident that India will be rejuvenated by the inspiration provided by you,” the Prime Minister can be seen telling athletes in a clip shared by shuttler B Sai Praneeth, a world championship bronze-medallist, who also attended the call.
All sporting activities are currently shut in the country and it is still not clear when normalcy will resume. The much-anticipated Indian Premier League is among the big-ticket Indian events suspended till April 15.
When Ganguly was asked about the development this morning, he said, “Yes, I will be joining our Honourable PM via video call.” But he refused to go into the details.
Cricketers formed a major chunk of the participating list. Apart from Tendulkar, Ganguly and Kohli, others in the call included top batsman Rohit Sharma, former pacer Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh.
The names of World Cup-winning former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and K L Rahul were in the list of participants but it is learnt that they could not attend the call.
Olympic silver-medallist shuttler Sindhu, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, chess wizard Viswanathan Anand, sprinter Hima Das, boxing star Amit Panghal, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, and teenage shooting sensation Manu Bhaker were among the other accomplished athletes who took part in the video call.
“Of these, 12 have been given three minutes each to speak and present their view,” a ministry source said without revealing the names of the chosen athletes.
It was later learnt that Tendulkar, Ganguly, M C Mary Kom and Kohli were among those who were to speak during the interaction.
“I suggested that as much as possible, I will use our way of greeting – saying ‘Namaste’ instead of shaking hands, even after we overcome this pandemic,” Tendulkar said after the interaction.
“I told him that it is sad that health care workers and police have been attacked,” said Asian Games medallist Hima Das, who is employed with Assam Police as a DSP.
However, six-time world champion Mary Kom could not connect to the call due to network issues.
Among those who managed to, former world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu said the PM urged everyone to be united in the fight to combat the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said the ability to face challenges, self-discipline, positivity and self-belief, which are essential to sports, are crucial tools to combat the spread of the virus as well.
