Rasquinha helps raise funds for grassroots players, staff

Non-profit organisations Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) and Go Sports Foundation have collectively launched a web-based pan-India initiative to lift funds to assist grassroots hockey which has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Through this “Let’s Stick Together”, initiative the organisations intention to lift Rs 20 lakh by July 15 to assist 200 younger gamers, coaches and employees struggling to make a residing after sport was stopped to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Each beneficiary will get a one-time grant of Rs 10,000.

Donations could be made on the net platform http://playfor.in, a joint non-profit undertaking of Go Sports Foundation and legislation agency LawNK and is a part of the worldwide #PlayForLives initiative. Donations could be produced from Rs 500 and above.

In two days, they’ve raised funds to assist the primary 100 beneficiaries and have began disbursing grants, Viren Rasquinha, OGQ’s CEO, stated on Tuesday.

While the impression of Covid-19 is widespread, it has been significantly extreme on these on the backside of the pyramid in sport.

‘Let’s Stick Together’ is the brainchild of former India captain Rasquinha who was impressed by an identical initiative by Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman who has raised funds for tennis ball children and markers. A dialog with former Mumbai participant Conroy Remedios bolstered Rasquinha’s resolve. Remedios is a former colleague who coaches the Bombay Republicans Hockey Club supported by Dronacharya Award winner Murzaban Patel (Bava).

“I was just inquiring with Conroy about how the Bombay Republican boys were doing and he told me that the boys were in very bad shape. Someone’s father is an auto rickshaw driver; someone’s sells fruits outside the Marine Lines station; someone’s father is a barber. All these people have had zero earnings in the last three months and were struggling to put food on the table. That really touched a chord within me and I said, ‘I need to do something for hockey, my sport’, and at the grassroots level,” stated Rasquinha.

He talked about this to Nandan Kamath, founder and managing trustee of Go Sports Foundation, who provided to do it as a joint initiative.

“We decided to support the most vulnerable section. These players are not part of any company, organisation, they are not part of SAI, Khelo India, India camp, nothing. These are young talented, deserving players but at the grassroots level. We are also looking at some coaches at the grassroots level who depend on hockey for survival. We are also looking at groundsmen, but mostly at players. We have set a target of 200 beneficiaries and are trying to ensure that 25%of them are female,” stated Rasquinha.

The beneficiaries are being recognized with the assistance of trusted intermediaries together with former gamers. “People like Conroy, who have been associated with the sport for 20-30 years working at the ground level,” stated Rasquinha.

“Dilip Tirkey will be helping to identify beneficiaries in Odisha; Mr K Arumugam, who runs One Thousand Hockey Legs, is helping in Delhi; Jude Felix Hockey Academy in Bangalore, Bharat Chikara, my colleague in the India team, in Haryana especially the girls there and Sanggai Chanu in Manipur. If someone is deserving, we will try and help them,” stated Rasquinha, who performed for Bombay Republicans, Air India and Indian Oil Corporation.