Alonso appeals for a polio-free India

New Delhi: Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso on Thursday appealed for a polio-free India after visiting an institute, where he met children affected by paralysis.

"Every child deserves the right to run, to play and to live a healthy life without polio," Alonso, also the UNICEF brand ambassador, said during a visit to Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya (CNBC) in East Delhi on Thursday.

"Polio is a terrible, crippling disease of children which we can and should eradicate from the planet."

Hours after landing in India for the country's inaugural Formula One Grand Prix, Alonso spent hours interacting with the children.

He also distributed Diwali gifts to the kids in the wards and those undergoing physiotherapy for paralysis in the hospital's Child Development Centre.

The Times Of India