Paes’ racquets, Dhoni’s gloves auctioned to help diehard football fans

Kolkata, June 13

Indian tennis legend Leander Paes’ Wimbledon mixed doubles winning racquets and India’s limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s keeping gloves and pads fetched Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively during a charity event organised by sports website xtratime.in.

The auction was held to help diehard Mohun Bagan fan Bapi Majhi, who is suffering from liver cancer and the family of deceased East Bengal supporter Alip Chakraborty.

According to a release issued by the website, a total amount of Rs 14 lakh was collected which will be handed over to Majhi and Chakraborty’s families.

Leander Paes’ racquets were bought by former India player and Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, who termed the tennis player going for his seventh successive Olympics as an “inspiration for all sportspersons.”

After buying the racquets, Manoj said: “At the age of 42, Leander is still winning Grand Slams. His dedication and hard work is an inspiration for all sportspersons. I love playing tennis during breaks and it would be nice to play with these racquets.”

In fact Paes called up Manoj and also promised to meet him sometime later this year when he would be coming to Kolkata. City based film producer Namit Bajoria bought Pele’s autographed football for Rs 1.10 lakh.

The other auctioned items like Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri’s jersey, cricketer Ajinkya Rahane’s jersey were also bought at the auction. — PTI