Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday discussed the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic with India's top sportspersons, including cricket icon Virat Kohli and star shuttler P V Sindhu, urging them to support awareness campaigns on social distancing.
More than 40 athletes, along with sports minister Kiren Rijiju, participated in nearly an hour-long video call which started at 11am. The country is in a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
The Prime Minister sought the athletes' 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.
"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.
The names of World Cup-winning former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and K L Rahul were in the list of participants but it is reported that they could not attend the call.
Here is the list of names of athletes compiled for the interaction with PM Modi ():
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Cricket)
2. Virat Kohli (Cricket)
3. Rohit Sharma (Cricket)
4. Mamatha Poojary (Kabaddi)
5. Sourav Ganguly (Cricket)
6. Sachin Tendulkar (Cricket)
7. Virender Sehwag (Cricket)
8. Mohd Shami (Cricket)
9. KL Rahul (Cricket)
10. Cheteshwar Pujara (Cricket)
11. Yuvraj Singh (Cricket)
12. Zaheer Khan (Cricket)
13. PT Usha (Athletics)
14. Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling)
15. Bajrang Punia (Wrestling)
16. Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling)
17. PV Sindhu (Badminton)
18. Mary Kom (Boxing)
19. Hima Das (Athletics)
20. Viswanathan Anand (Chess)
21. Rani Rampal (Hockey)
22. Deepika Kumari (Archery)
23. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting)
24. Neeraj Chopra (Athletics)
25. Sharad Kumar (Para Athletics)
26. Apurvi Chandela (Shooting)
27. Manu Bhaker (Shooting)
28. Tarundeep Rai (Archery)
29. Bhaichung Bhutia (Football)
29. Sardara Singh (Hockey)
30. Achanta Sharath Kamal (Table Tennis)
31. Amit Panghal (Boxing)
32. Gagan Narang (Shooting)
33. Anju Bobby George (Athletics)
34. Rohan Bopanna (Tennis)
35. Ankita Raina (Tennis)
36. Sai Praneeth (Badminton)
37. Srihari Natraj (Swimming)
38. Harmeet Desai (Table Tennis)
39. Abhishek Verma (Shooting)
40. Avinash Sable (Athletics)
41. KT Irfan (Athletics)
42. Lovlina Boroghain (Boxing)
43. Simranjeet Kaur (Boxing)
44. Jeremy Lalrinnunga (Weightlifting)
45. Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi (Fencing)
46. Pramod Bhagat (Para Badminton)
(With inputs from agencies)
