Coaches now heading back to China

Bangladeshi tennis coaches have started returning to China with hopes of avoiding the coronavirus pandemic, despite having earlier returned home in fear of the coronavirus outbreak in China.     

Some 40 tennis coaches, most of them former BKSP students, have been working at different tennis academies or their own academies situated at different provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other placed in China.

"Some 20 to 25 coaches from Bangladesh have been working in different provinces of China and most of them returned to Bangladesh due to fear of coronavirus and they are now returning to China because of the same problem in Bangladesh now," Henry Prithul Mondoal told The Daily Star yesterday.

Prithul, who has been working at Think Shot Tennis Academy in Shanghai since 2013 and returned home on January 29, is all set to return to China on March 29.

"Family members have been anxious after the breakout of coronavirus in China, because I was there without family, though there are others like Murad, Babu, Shahnewaj who are also working as coaches at different academies.

"However, I have to now leave Bangladesh as the situation in China is much better now, but I am now anxious about my family in Bangladesh," said Prithul, adding that he knows that he has to go through some medical process before entering China.

"I know the process and am ready to do it as I am scheduled to fly out on March 29. If I have any problem, then the authorities will take some steps. If everything is alright, then I will self-quarantine at home [in China] for 14 days," said the former national tennis player.