Striker Thy a winner for his gesture
MUMBAI:Sport not only brings passionate fans unbridled joy, it also sometimes goes beyond the on-field action to lay down strong examples in everyday life.
Lennart Thy’s name might not have rung a bell in the minds of football fans before Monday as the 26-year-old German striker had only made one strong impact earlier. Thy had tasted some success in 2009 as the joint top-scorer in the UEFA European U-17 Championships.
But perhaps the biggest moment of his life came in March this year when he decided to miss a crucial game for his club VVVVenlo in the Dutch league Eredivisie against PSV Eindhoven, to donate stem cells in order to help a leukaemia patient.
Thy, who had joined the donor register seven years ago, according to the BBC, was discovered as the DNA match to donate blood to help doctors generate stem cells for a transplant.
Thy’s gesture has had a longlasting effect — from fans to FIFA, they were all moved. While there was reportedly a hike in stem-cell donations in the Netherlands, FIFA on Monday awarded Thy with the Fair Play Award. Fans showed up in large numbers during VVV Venlo’s clash against PSV Eindhoven, a game which Thy’s team lost 0-3. The mascots for the game wore a special t-shirt with the message: ‘Follow Lennart, become a stem cell donor’.
There was more in store for Thy, who was honoured by opposition team PSV Eindhoven. Thy was named Man-of-the-Match for his gesture which has made him an inspirational figure in the world of sports. “It’s a big honour for me to receive this award. When I got the chance to help someone who was suffering from blood cancer, there was no other choice for me than helping him. The best thing is that thousands of new donators registered in the Netherlands — this really makes me proud,” said Thy.
However, Thy’s gesture was not the only such instance. In November 2009, an American university footballer Matt Hoffman donated blood stem cells to help a worker from Texas treat Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.