Goran Martinovic, former Croatian boxing champion, has bought 20,000 medical masks at his own expense and donated them to support China’s battle against the outbreak of the new coronavirus epidemic.

Martinovic, with a Chinese name Ma Guolun, has asked all his relatives and friends to purchase as many medical masks as possible in Croatia and Serbia since January 27, after knowing the masks were sold out in China.

Due to a 7-hour time difference, Martinovic in Suzhou had to sleep in the day time and work at night in order to maintain the close contact to his friends. He said he finally had the best sleep in days on February 3 after contract for the 20,000 masks was signed. “As China is facing a difficult time, please don’t see me an outsider,” said Martinovic.

The epidemic came to the world's close attention, but some false reports by overseas media left relatives and friends very concerned, so they repeatedly called to persuade Martinovic to go back to Croatia.

Martinovic said he had to tell the realities in China to the international community so he received interviews with RTL Group and other European media outlets. He introduced the rapid responses of the Chinese government, the transparency in the efforts as well as the united efforts of the Chinese people in the fight against the epidemic. "The Chinese government and people have once again deeply impressed me. I will not leave. I will only love China and Suzhou more."

Martinovic learned boxing from 3 and joined the national team in Croatia at 16, later winning multiple titles. In 2015, at the invitation of his brother, he came to Suzhou to help set up the Suzhou Showdown, a white-collar boxing event, in order to raise fund for a girl with cleft lip and palate.

 

Since then, he has organized the boxing event for six more times, through which nearly 300,000 yuan have been raised for charity programs. In 2019, he won the Jiangsu Friendship Award, the highest honor issued by Jiangsu government to foreign experts in the province. Martinovic said he will double efforts to give back to Suzhou and its people.

 

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