ISL 2018-19: Chennaiyin FC's Abhishek Bachchan, Chennai City FC donate for fan's treatment
Chennaiyin FC co-owner Abhishek Bachchan has donated Rs 5,00,000 (Rs five lakh) as his contribution towards the treatment of a fan suffering from a cardiovascular disorder. I-League club Chennai City FC too has donated about Rs 30,000 for the cause.
A few days ago, Jaikumar Murugesan, a 24-year-old die-hard Chennaiyin FC fan, had set up a fundraiser through a website to cover his medical expenses for the treatment of a heart-lung disorder called Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum (PAIVS). He had set up a target of Rs 2,00,000 initially and had raised a little over Rs 50,000.
Jaikumar was admitted to a hospital in Chennai, who informed him about the costs involved for the surgery.
"Due to hard financial situation of my family, I can't able (sic) to allocate funds for my treatment," Jaikumar says.
"We are not able to raise the money to meet this medical expense and therefore we are requesting for your help to raise fund for my treatment.
"We request you to support us by donating the money before March. Thank you in advance for your support."
The Supermachans, the fan Army of Chennaiyin FC, revealed that Bachchan had donated Rs 5L for the surgery.
"Get well soon Jaikumar," Bachchan commented.
Bachchan is also a co-owner in the Pro Kabaddi League franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers. The Bollywood actor is a regular figure in Chennaiyin FC's home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and was also seen at the PKL arena vociferously supporting Jaipur.
Meanwhile, Chennai City owner Rohit Ramesh also wished Jaikumar a quick recovery. "We hope our contribution was sufficient and he gets well soon!" Ramesh said.
One of the members of Supermachans, Jenisha Rani, has been helping Jaikumar collect the required funds for his treatment. "Jaikumar seems to have brought the entire Indian football fraternity together as fan clubs throughout the country have shown support and wished for his speedy recovery," Jenisha said.
"Jaikumar is a vocal supporter of Chennaiyin FC and has been a regular travelling member of the Supermachans for away games. He has come with us to Goa, Kochi and Bangalore and has been attending all the home matches of Chennaiyin FC this season.
"We decided to help him because of his financial condition. The medicines that he had to purchase were quite expensive but thanks to the support of the Indian football community, Jaikumar is able to meet those expenses.
"Jaikumar had this disorder since his birth but it aggravated over the last couple of months and cause quite a bit of pain. He's doing okay now and we hope he's back to his feet soon."
Among the other donors are journalist TN Raghu and coach Raman Vijayan, who both provide commentary for ISL matches in Tamil.
PAIVS is a disorder in which there's an obstruction to the flow of blood to the right ventricle of the lung. As a result of this block, blood will be unable to flow into the pulmonary artery and lungs, which leads to the underdevelopment of the heart as a whole. The treatment for this is usually by surgical intervention.