East Singhbhum District Table Tennis Association (ESDTTA) has extended financial aid to two struggling coaches who are sitting idle since schools are closed in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ESDTTA has provided Rs 5,275 each to L.N. Mitra and Gokul Kumar, who train budding school paddlers, but are not established coaches.

“We collected donations from our members, registered paddlers and umpires as well as well-wishers for the coaches,” said Ujjal Kumar Chatterjee, secretary of ESDTTA.

“We were aware that the coaches were having financial troubles and wanted to help. Both Mitra and Kumar have become jobless owing to Covid-19 and we felt it was our responsibility to help them in troubled times,” he said.

Chatterjee, a resident of Contractor’s Area in Bistupur, who has contributed to the promotion of promising paddlers of the district, added they have also presented a cheque Rs 5,000 to the Jharkhand State Table Tennis Association.

“We raised Rs 20,550 and have deposited Rs 5,000 to the ESDTTA bank account for using it for similar causes. The rest of the amount has been donated to the two coaches and the state outfit,” Chatterjee said.

“We provided financial aid to the state table tennis association on a call from international paddlers Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Neha Aggarwal who have launched a campaign to extend aid to paddlers and coaches who are facing trouble due to the pandemic,” he said.

The international paddlers are seeking support from state table tennis associations for their campaign.

ESDTTA has also given Rs 2,000 to JSTTA.

“The trio have already raised Rs 7 lakh for providing financial help to coaches, players and umpires who are affected by the pandemic,” Chatterjee added.