In a bid to continue the fight against the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, the Bengal Tennis Association is planning to donate Rs 1 lakh to help in the course.
The rapidly-spreading deadly virus has led to the death of over 34,000 people, while almost a million people have been infected. According to the report, the US currently has more cases than China, where the virus emanated from Italy having the highest death toll followed by Spain.
BTA secretary Mihir Mitra in a statement, revealed that the association would donate Bengal Olympic Association to help fight the battle in this challenging moment.
This means that the governing body has joined other sports bodies from the state who had jointly donated to support the fight against the deadly virus. It could be recalled that the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had initially led the way with a donation of Rs 25 lakh.
I-League champions Mohun Bagan followed suit with a donation of Rs 20 lakh. The donations were made to the State Relief Fund.
Meanwhile, the lockdown will soon start taking its toll on some players. Some tennis players have claimed that they are struggling to afford food due to the crisis. They have been made unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic.
With the situation of things, the authorities in India are yet to set a date for resumption of sporting activities.
One of the players in this category is Georgian player Sofia Shapatava. She is appealing to the governing body of the game, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), to help out the hundreds of players who have been rendered jobless. The men’s and women’s tours have been postponed. The competitions are now into a three-month lockdown.
Speaking with AFP, Shapatava pointed out that players below 250 in the world will struggle to buy food in the next two to three weeks.
Expressing the hope, the ITF will look for a way to help the athletes, Shapatava, revealed that they have said that they have a lot on their plate already, adding that they will revert to her as soon as possible.
With the look of things, the only hope the players have is that tournaments will resume on June 8, provided the society is now safe for all.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
