Liver Transplant Recipient from Andhra Becomes First Indian to Compete in Tennis at WTG 2023

Hyderabad: A retired Indian Railways employee and former footballer from Andhra Pradesh PV Ramanaiah is set to represent India at the World Transplant Games (WTG) 2023 to be held in Perth, Australia. WTG aims to promote amateur sport amongst organ transplant recipients, living donors and donor families. 

62-year-old Ramanaiah is a Visakhapatnam resident who will become the first Indian to compete in tennis at the WTG next year. The retired Indian Railways staffer had undergone a liver transplant at a Hyderabad hospital in 2017.

Following the surgery, Ramanaiah  was able to get back into his active lifestyle. He took up a tennis racquet and started playing tennis and participated in several tournaments. The former Indian Railways staffer attended a camp conducted by Organ Receiving and Giving Awareness Network (ORGAN) Indian, to assess the fitness and ability of aspiring athletes who wished to participate in the World Transplant Games 2023, and the medical experts at the camp declared that he was physically fit to take part in the games. 

As a sports enthusiast and a footballer Ramanaiah joined Indian Railwal̥ys at Secunderabad in 1983. During his career, he has represented India at the Junior Asian Youth Football Championship in Nepal, and also played for Andhra Pradesh at the U-19 Football Championship. 

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(With IANS inputs)