Gavaskar’s CHAMPS, govt assist ailing hockey Olympian MP Singh

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali New Delhi, Nov 16 : Ailing former India hockey penalty corner specialist Mohinder Pal Singh has received some well-deserved assistance, first from cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar’s NGO and on Monday the sports ministry provided Rs 10 lakh for his treatment. Both kidneys of Singh have been damaged, and he is suffering from high blood pressure as well.
Shivjeet, wife of 58-year-old former full-back, along with a few former India hockey stars, had met sports minister Kiren Rijiju on October 23 and had requested for assistance for the Olympian, who is on dialysis in a Delhi hospital.
“The sports ministry has sanctioned Rs.10 lakh towards the treatment of hockey Olympian MP Singh, who is suffering from a chronic kidney ailment and is currently on dialysis. The money, sanctioned under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons (PDUNWFS), was given to his wife Shivjeet on Monday,” the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the Gavaskar-headed Caring Helping Assisting Motivating and Promoting Sportspersons (CHAMPS) Foundation had sent Rs.1 lakh as immediate medical assistance as Singh has been undergoing dialysis and needed immediate help. Sivjeet confirmed to IANS about receiving the assistance from CHAMPS Foundation on November 6.
Former captain Gavaskar, along with his wife Marshneil, former India captain Gundappa Viswanath, and a few others, runs CHAMPS Foundation, under which it has been helping sportspersons from different disciplines since 1999.
Shivjeet said that her husband also has the issue of high blood pressure. “He is going thrice a week to Apollo Hospital for dialysis. Besides that, he also the high blood pressure problem for which he is taking medicine,” she informed IANS on Monday.