ITV

Tag: Kalyan Chaubey

  • Top NRI athletes welcome PM Modi’s vision for Pravasi Sports

    Top NRI athletes welcome PM Modi’s vision for Pravasi Sports

    Mumbai: Indian golf legend Arjun Atwal has welcomed honourable prime minister Narendra Modi’s vision for Pravasi Sports. Atwal, who is the only Indian to win on the coveted PGA Tour, shared his thoughts with the Holistic International Pravasi Sports Association (HIPSA), the first organization to be exclusively set up with an aim to promote and ‘Integrate’ PravasiBhartiya youth with their motherland through the medium of Sports.

    Speaking from his home in the USA, Atwal further said, “I have always appreciated PM Modi and this vision of Pravasi Sports has a special significance for me and my family. I’m still playing golf and have another five years to go and I would be delighted to play in India. Both my sons are basketball players and we as a family would be elated if they can come and play in India and connect back to their roots. Going forward, a Pravasi vs Nivasi competition would be even more exciting to have.”

    HIPSA is planning several tournaments involving overseas Indian youth and recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Haryana government for the development and promotion of Kabaddi, in particular focussing on overseas Indian women Kabaddi players. The ultimate aim being to push for the inclusion of Kabaddi in the Summer Olympics.

    Pravasi Sports Leagues in Women’s Kabaddi & Cricket are also in the plans for 2024 and the captain of the 2012 U-19 ICC World Cup winning Indian cricket team Unmukt Chand, is among its first backers. The cricketer who now plies his trade in the USA, said, “The Prime Minister’s vision for sports competitions for PravasiBharatiyas is very inspiring and gives us all a chance to stay connected to our roots. The concept of a Pravasi Sports League is very promising, especially as it promotes fitness, enthusiasm and the spirit of reconnecting to your motherland.”

    The prime minister back in 2019 in a meeting with the sports fraternity, had envisioned and had desired to find a way to conduct Sports competitions for talented Pravasi Bharatiya youth in India.

    Earlier in 2017, addressing the 14th edition of the PravasiBharatiya Divas in Bengaluru, Modi had said, “I welcome all young Pravasis. You must stay connected with India and return over and over again. This is your home.”

    Recently, All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey, had revealed that they were looking to approach 24 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to explore the possibility of them being selected for national duty. However, dual citizenship still remains a contentious issue and the need for an initial bridge between talented overseas Indian athletes engaging through sport with their country of origin seemed to be the need of the hour.

    HIPSA, through its objectives, will look to act as that bridge and try and give talented overseas youth a first feel of playing regularly in India.

  • Global football heavyweights root for India’s bullish sports market at RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India

    Global football heavyweights root for India’s bullish sports market at RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India

    Mumbai: Global stakeholders from the world of football expressed their optimism regarding the emergence of India as a rising sporting market at the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India on 29 November in Bengaluru.

    Nic Coward who is the former general secretary of the Premier League and CEO of UK Athletics is one of the few global football experts at the country’s first-of-its-kind summit promises to offer a panoramic view of the present and future of the sports industry, advocating and providing insights into the transformative elements that are propelling India into a new era of sporting excellence and business innovation.

    Talking about the economically burgeoning sporting industry of India, Coward stated, “This (India) is the single greatest sports growth economy story anywhere in the world and will be for a considerable period of time. I think one of the great advantages that (India) has is that a lot of this entrepreneurial spirit can go from an idea through to execution pretty quickly. ISL doing what they did in order to grow and to develop created a compelling entertainment product. As things have progressed, there can now be greater coming together of an entire ecosystem.”

    By bringing together titans from the international sporting world, RCB Innovation Lab starting with the Leader’s Meet: India is creating a participative platform where influential dialogues and the exchange of innovative ideas become center stage.

    The Premier League enjoys a substantial fan base in India with interest growing especially among the emerging middle class in the country. The average age of an adult Premier League fan in India is 34.5 years while 39% are aged 25-34.

    Will Brass the Chief Commercial Officer of the English Premier League citing Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as a key figure in expanding the popularity of Premier League in India said, “Ranveer Singh has been really critical for us in understanding the market. We have been working with him since 2017. He is an authentic fan of the game, an authentic fan of the league, and has delivered a great deal, growing the India-specific social media audiences that we have via the PLO India, social tags here.”

    According to a YouGov survey last year, India enjoys a total of 160 million football enthusiasts. Italy’s 2006 FIFA World Cup champion Alessandro Del Piero who has enthralled the passionate footballing fans of India during his stint at Delhi Dynamos also shared his thoughts on how India can become a football powerhouse at the event.

    “In order to become better, you definitely need to start from the grassroots. If you want to create something big and long-term with real value, you need to invest in facilities and the teams and, of course in coaches. Grassroots is the key, to everything because children learn so fast and much better than us. If you build the academies then you can teach them the right things because talent is everywhere, in India and in every country in the world,” said Mr. Alessandro Del Piero.

    All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey, who was also part of the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India, on the first day spoke about the growth market of Indian football, “India has opportunity business-wise because we have 1/6 population in this world and also the largest population. I have spoken with FIFA several times and the President of FIFA and myself, are on the same page that India has huge potential to develop.”

    RCB Innovation Lab Leaders Meet: India will conclude on 30 November.