Coronavirus: Pullela Gopichand donates Rs 26 lakhs to fight against Covid-19

Pullela Gopichand, India’s national badminton coach, is the latest to join the list of Indian sports icons who have contributed to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. As per a report in the Times of India, Gopichand has donated a total of Rs 26 lakh from his own savings for the cause.

"I am just making my small contribution to help the Centre and the State Government fight COVID-19," the All England open champion told Timesofindia.com.

Gopichand, who is credited with the rise of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and effectively, Indian badminton, has already transferred Rs 11 lakh to the PM-CARES fund, Rs 10 lakh to the Telangana Chief Minister's Fund and Rs 5 lakh to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Fund.

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"Our country is so diverse and despite all the challenges, the Central and State Governments are doing a great job. Let us all help them by doing our bit, especially by following instructions and staying at home," the Arjuna awardee said.

Gopichand feels that the fight against the deadly pandemic will leave the country’s economy in ruins, which is why there is no better time to come forward and help, everyone should do that. “We can win this battle together," the badminton icon said.

Previously, the BCCI, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, sprinter Hima Das, shuttler PV Sindhu, wrestler Bajrang Punia, and many other sports icons have contributed for the cause.

The number of cases of the novel coronavirus across the globe breached the 1 million mark as the global death toll crossed 50,000. India, so far, has reported over 4,200 Covid-19 cases, and more than 500 new cases were reported yesterday itself.

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