Indian squash player Ravi Dixit, who had tried to sell his kidney on social media on Sunday, apologised for his action on Tuesday through a letter written to the President of the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).
The 23-year-old Dixit, a trainee at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA), Chennai had offered to sell his kidney for Rs. 8 lakhs on Facebook reportedly to fund his campaign for next month’s South Asian Games (SAG); ironically he’s part of the 4-member Indian men’s team (for SAG). The controversial post, which has been taken off now, garnered more attention after it was picked up by the mainstream media.
Apologising to his family and the various organisations that have supported him, Dixit said that the “statement (on Facebook) was made at spur of the moment” and he never intended to sell his kidney.
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But later in the day, he told PTI that he indeed had seen a doctor to inquire about a surgery on his kidney.
“I did give it (selling kidney) a serious thought. I went to a doctor in Lucknow and he told me that I could play with one kidney five to six months after operation. I still have no sponsors so I hope something happens soon. I wrote Rs 8 lakh as the price for my kidney as the annual budget for touring is Rs 12 lakh,” Dixit said.
“I was feeling really low and that is why I posted that (deleted now). I realise it was not the right thing to do. I will continue looking for sponsors,” he added. A senior official said: “His performance last season has been average on the International Tour; off and on so to say. For some tournaments, he’s funded by SRFI and others he goes about it on his own.”
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Meanwhile, the President of SRFI, Debendranath Sarangi said that Dixit has been training at the ISA for nine years now. The ISA and SRFI, according to Sarangi, provide him financial assistance (in addition to the funding from Ministry of Sports and Dhampur Sugar Mills). Dixit, who is ranked 211 on the world, is sixth top-ranked Indian according to PSA rankings.