As Indian students in Ukraine struggle to escape the country, Indian professional boxer Neeraj Goyat is using his contacts in that country’s boxing ecosystem to help them flee.

Goyat is a former national champion and junior commonwealth bronze medalist who has a record of 13-3-2 as a professional and holds the WBC Asia Welterweight title. He reached out to his compatriots in Ukraine shortly after the invasion of the country by Russian forces, saying “I found out that there were many Indian students in the east of the country who were trying to escape but didn’t know how. A few of them had reached out to me. In my boxing career I’ve travelled a lot to that part of Europe so I know a lot of boxers and coaches from that region so I reached out to them.”

Currently in India, Goyat notes that with the bulk of the fighting to the east of the country, the priority for students was to get to Lviv, near the western border with Poland, from where they could attempt to cross over. “The toughest journey is the one from Kharkiv (near the eastern border with Russia). They are getting on a trains to go to the west but it’s very difficult. When the students were on the station, I was on a call with them and I could hear the heavy bombs going like thunder in the background. They are getting pushed and shoved and there’s no space on the trains. The train is stopping every couple of hours and it will take about one day to get to Lviv,” he says.

Goyat was able to use his contacts to additional effect in helping students in Kyiv, close to the northern border with Belarus, which in recent days has seen heavy bombings as well. “There are students across Ukraine who are trying to escape. There were students in Kyiv who reached out to me. I’m part of a WhatsApp group with a lot of Ukrainian boxers and coaches so through them I was able to get the contact number of a cab driver who was willing to drive out of Kyiv to Lviv. I spoke to the driver once and then was able to pass it on to the students,” he says.

As students have reached Lviv, Goyat has managed to arrange accommodation until they can cross the border. “For Indians who have reached Lviv, I have been able to do a lot more. I have a friend who works as a lecturer in the university and through him, we have been able to arrange accommodation for 200-250 students. We will be able to arrange more in the coming days,” he says.

ESPN Boxing