Mahesh Sharma

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 22

Mandeep Kaur (24), a budding basketball player of Jarkhar village in Ludhiana district, has been diagnosed with cancer. But she is not ready to surrender to the dreaded disease and is determined to fetch laurels to her village and the nation one day through the sport.

Office-bearers of the academy, led by Jagrup Singh Jarkhar, have come forward to sponsor her treatment, with the help of sports lovers of the region, including NRIs.

Elder among two daughters of a poor Dalit family of Jarkhar, Mandeep has been supporting her father Sikandar Singh financially by working at an automobile company. She is presently undergoing treatment at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Sangrur.

“Though I know it is a dreaded disease, I am sure that my willpower and sportsman spirit will conquer it with prayers and best wishes of the sports world,” Mandeep said.

Jagrup Singh said the organisation had already launched measures to save Mandeep’s life. He maintained that the total expense of her treatment would be between Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh.

Jarkhar villagers had called upon philanthropists, including NRIs and corporate, to contribute generously for the noble cause, he added.