Coronavirus: Sania Mirza raises Rs 1.25 Crore to help fight Covid-19

Indian tennis icon Sania Mirza has raised Rs 1.25 crore to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic. The 33-year old star, who made a return to professional tennis after a two year sabbatical earlier in January, took to Twitter to share the news on Monday.

"The last week we have tried as a team to provide some help to the people in need..we provided food to thousands of families and raised 1.25 Crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people.its an ongoing effort and we are in this together @youthfeedindia @safaindia," Sania wrote on the social networking platform.

https://twitter.com/MirzaSania/status/1244569014702989312

A number of sports personalities have already come forward and made their contributions to help the country battle against COVID-19. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi created Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund and appealed to countrymen to show their support for the cause, a host of athletes pledged to donate.

From cricketers Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar to shuttler PV Sindhu, everyone has come forward to help the cause.

As of Tuesday morning, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases rose above 1200 in India and the death toll stands at 32. The govt has said there is no plan to extend the lockdown beyond 21 days, and trashed media reports hinting at such a possibility.

While all sports events across the world have been cancelled or postponed, for Sania, the action never stops. She has been training and maintaining a basic level of fitness at her home where she has custom-built a tennis court.

"I’m not really switched on to tennis right now. I’m taking it one day at a time, like I assume everybody else is too. But I am training and working on my fitness every day. Luckily, I have a tennis court in my house, so I’m able to get some work done,” she was quoted saying by the Hindustan Times.

“I haven’t been practising as such; just training and working out to be healthy and just feeling good. It’s an unexpected break for everybody… We should just be healthy, and grateful for the fact that we are all safe in our homes.