Indian basketball stars encourage social distancing and quarantine workouts amid breakout of COVAD-19 virus

With the recent outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19, plenty of countries have gone into lockdown, advising or even instructing their citizens to avoid getting out of the house and to adopt social distancing. 

India is no different. 

A day after the country observed 'Janata Curfew' on (Sunday, March 22), the country's notable basketball stars - men and women, young and old - took to social media to promote the message of social distancing. 

Satnam Singh, the first and only Indian-born player to be picked in the NBA Draft in 2015, was among the first few to share a message regarding the virus.

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Stay home and stay safe 🙏🙏 Respect the doctors and nurses who are working hard to save lives! The more we isolate and stay home the more lives we can save. Follow the government orders. Please stop going to public gatherings. It’s our duty as human beings to help slow this down. #breakcorona #togetherathome

A post shared by Satnam Singh Bhamara (@hellosatnam) on Mar 22, 2020 at 10:04am PDT

Jeena Skaria, who last year became only the second woman to play professionally in Australia, advises people to "obey the instructions given by the government and authorities" as part of her message.

Hey everyone, Let’s defeat Corona together..!! 💪🏼 Be safe and let’s break the chain@BFI_basketball @EkalavyasBball pic.twitter.com/oa6V270oW9

— Jeena P S (@Jeena_PS) March 23, 2020

Vishesh Bhrighuvanshi, who was the captain of the Indian national squad at the recent Window 1 of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, emphasizes "stay home".

Everyone should stop thinking of themselves and worry about the greater good. Don't potentially hurt the others,it's time to play for your country and the entire world.@BFI_basketball @kheloindia @WeAreTeamIndia @DGSAI @KirenRijiju @narendramodi @PMOIndia @EkalavyasBball pic.twitter.com/qqjKWg9n7L

— Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (@vishesh_9) March 23, 2020

Shireen Limaye, the youngest ever basketball player to represent India, has been sharing a part of her quarantantine workouts on Instagram and ends her message by saying "Please do not stop practising at home. The grind don't ever stop".

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Let’s fight this virus together like one unit! Take care of your family and friends especially the older generation! We have stay put, be patient, be healthy and be smart! Don’t go out of your house, our home is the safest place to be at right now. Guys it’s no joke, 70% of the earth 🌎 is suffering because of this wuhan coronavirus but we can prevent it by staying put!! Let’s make this work TOGETHER people. Also keep ballin 🤩 #protocols @india_basketball @inthelabindia @redbullindia @redbullhalfcourt @indianbasketballteam @overtimeind @ekalavyas

A post shared by Shireen Vijay Limaye (@shireenlimaye95) on Mar 23, 2020 at 6:23am PDT

Raspreet Sidhu, a regular panel member on NBA's weekend show - Around the Hoop, shared her message to Indians. Stressing the need to workout in these times of qurantine, she requests everybody to not abondon their pets in these trying times.

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I have been staying at home and practicing social/physical distancing. I want to make sure I am doing my part in these uncertain times. Your actions matter and to #stayhome is one thing we can do to flatten the curve. Let’s take care. And a big thank you to all who are out there taking care of us outside of your own home 🙏🙌 #thistooshallpass @india_basketball @inthelabindia @inthelab @ekalavyas @tsc.global @streetball_league @overtimeind @redbullindia @redbull

A post shared by Raspreet Sidhu (@raspreet_sidhu) on Mar 24, 2020 at 6:11am PDT

A Message from @jogi4444 #StaySafeStayHome pic.twitter.com/P1ESQsa0ll

— #IndiaBasketball (@BFI_basketball) March 23, 2020

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Stay home guys for the sake of our kids our parents and all our loved ones, just stay home and chill.be a responsible citizen and lets beat corona and support our health officials relentless hard work. #kovid19 #corona #kerala #health #letsbreakthechain #breakthechain #indiabasketball #keralabasketball #ksebkerala #beatcoronavirus👊👊👊

A post shared by Stephy Nixon (@stephy) on Mar 24, 2020 at 6:27am PDT

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This is my humble request to everyone, please stay at home, stay safe and take care of you and your loved ones and please try to keep a social distance for few weeks in order to prevent the COVID 19.May god bless us all🙏 #takingcare #healthylifestyle #staystrong #staysafe #togetherwestandstrong

A post shared by Barkha Sonkar -(BK) (@barkhasonkar) on Mar 23, 2020 at 7:32pm PDT

A couple of NBA Academy India Women campers have also sent out messages - Reigning MVP Harsimran Kaur and Ann Mary Zachariah.

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A post shared by HARSIMRAN KAUR DHAMI (@h.s.dhami23) on Mar 23, 2020 at 10:33am PDT

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Beaware of covid_19 #takecare #besafe #behealthy❤️🙏

A post shared by AnN mArY ZaChArIah (@annzack__10) on Mar 23, 2020 at 5:30am PDT

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