Dope-tainted Gharami becomes 'hero' in times of pandemic
Tainted by a doping offence a year ago, Indian footballer Rana Gharami has now become a hero in his home town, by lending a helping hand to those struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 29-year-old former Odisha FC defender hails from Garalgacha in West Bengal's Hooghly district.
In April last year, Gharami was handed a provisional suspension by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after he tested positive for a banned substance, in a first such case involving an Indian Super League footballer.
Gharami, who was with Delhi Dynamos then, was cleared to return to his franchise after six months.
"It was a horrible past and I suffered a lot of mental turmoil. I don't want to recall anymore. There was a time when I had stopped taking phone calls," Gharami, who started in eight matches for Odisha FC last ISL season, said in an interaction with PTI.
He was saddened to see the plight of hundreds of poor people, most daily wage labourers or rickshaw pullers, losing livelihood because