Sindhu donates Rs 5 lakh each to Telangana and Andhra to fight COVID-19 pandemic

World champion shuttler P V Sindhu on Thursday donated Rs 5 lakh each to the Chief Minister's Relief Funds of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to fight the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 21,000 lives globally.

The number of positive cases in India has surpassed the 600-mark, while 13 deaths have been reported so far, prompting the government to put the country under lockdown till April 14 to halt the spread of the virus.

"I hereby donate an amount of Rs 5,00,000/- each (Rs five lakhs ) towards the Chief Ministers Relief Fund for the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to fight against COVID-19," the Hyderabad-born shuttler wrote on her twitter handle.

Telangana was created out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

The deadly disease, which has infected more than 4,00,000 people worldwide, has brought all sporting activities across the globe to a grinding halt, disrupting the Olympic qualifiers before pushing the Tokyo Games to next year.

Sindhu, who claimed a silver at the Rio Olympics, is assured of a spot at the Tokyo Games based on her rankings but has to wait for next year to compete in her second Olympics.

The BWF had, earlier this month, suspended all the HSBC BWF World Tour and other tournaments from March 16 to April 12 before further suspending five more tournaments.

These included the three continental championships falling inside the April 26 deadline for Olympic qualification.