Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore promises aid to ailing national karate champion Priyanka

What's the story?

Priyanka, a four-time karate nationals gold medal winner, was diagnosed with Leukemia last year and since then, the cost of her treatment was being carried out by her mother.

However, when Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was made aware of the situation, he responded by tweeting that an officer from Sports Authority of India has been assigned to look into the matter immediately.

An officer from @Media_SAI has been assigned to look into this immediately. @IndiaSports https://t.co/2ibQKGsXS3

— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) January 11, 2018

In case you didn't know

Priyanka is a four-time state gold medalist in karate and has won three gold medals at the state level in Taekwondo as well.

She lives with her family in a room allotted to them by the Indira Public School on their on campus in New Shakti Nagar, Ludhiana. It is a charitable school set up for poor children which also provides compulsory martial arts training for all the girls.

Priyanka's mother is a factory worker and earns a meagre Rs.5000 per month from which she has to feed her seven children as well as bear the cost of treatment.

The heart of the matter

The young Karateka was going to represent India at the Malaysian Championship last year when she was diagnosed with the disease and had to pull out for checkups and treatment. Since then, the government has taken no step in trying to help Priyanka in her recovery.

Now, when the former national champion has to undergo a bone marrow surgery, which would cost around Rs. 20-25 lakhs, the Government of India has finally come to her aid.

What next?

The Sports Ministry is looking into the matter and will provide the financial support to Priyanka so that her surgery can take place without any further delay.

Author's take

We hope Priyanka undergoes a successful surgery, recovers to full health and then gets back to playing the sport as soon as possible.