Moscow Olympics hockey heroes Ravinder Pal, MK Kaushik battling Covid-19

Hockey India (HI) extended financial support on Thursday to Ravinder Pal Singh, a member of India’s victorious 1980 Moscow Olympics team who has been in a Lucknow hospital ICU since April 24 with severe Covid-19 symptoms.

“Hockey India will transfer ₹five lakh to the hospital for the treatment of Ravinder Pal Singh on the opening of lockdown in Delhi on May 10,” HI president Gyanendro Nigombam said in a statement.

Former hockey player, RP Singh, director (sports) in Uttar Pradesh and HI athletes’ representative in the state, is coordinating with the family of Ravinder Pal, who also played in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Ravinder Pal’s niece Pragya Yadav had requested the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra for financial support while his condition has worsened in the last few days. Batra, also the international hockey federation (FIH) president, forwarded the request to HI.

The family of Ravinder Pal, who also played in the 1979 Junior World Cup, has struggled to meet his daily hospital expenditure of around ₹30,000. Ravinder Pal had taken premature retirement from State Bank of India.

Ravinder Pal played in all major tournaments in the 1980s, including the Karachi Champions Trophy (1980 & 1983), Silver Jubilee 10-Nation Cup (Hong Kong, 1983), World Cup (Mumbai, 1982), Asia Cup (Karachi, 1982), the India-Pakistan Test series in 1981 and the Malaysian quadrangular series in 1980.

Lucknow IG of police, Laxmi Singh, has given ₹2 lakh for the former player’s treatment.

Kaushik in hospital

MK Kaushik, also a member of the 1980 Moscow Olympics team and later coach of the men’s and women’s national teams, is also undergoing treatment in a nursing home in New Delhi for Covid-19. The condition of the 66-year-old is said to be serious. Kaushik was the coach when India won gold at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, ending a 32-year wait for glory in the continental event.

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