A sporting chance………Pravda Godbole
A Pune-based non-profit organisation focuses on providing aspiring sportsmen with financial backing
A Pune-based non-profit organisation focuses on providing aspiring sportsmen with financial backing
India may be an emerging giant on the world economic stage but when it comes to sport, it’s still a dwarf (outside of cricket). What’s missing in the quest for global dominance, aspiring sportsmen will tell you, is financial support.
Lakshya, a non-profit organisation based in Pune, aims to provide just that by roping in India Inc. Set up by a group of sports enthusiasts in the city in 2009, Lakshya is an acronym for Looking At Knowledge in Sports and Helping Youth Achieve.
“Our aim is to provide a launch pad for talented sportspeople in the country so they achieve what millions of Indians only dream of,” says Manish Jain, president, Lakshya, and joint managing director, Kumar Properties, a city-based realtor that has provided the seed capital for the organisation.
“Lakshya taps young talented sportspeople, helps them develop their skills, hone their techniques and allows them to concentrate on their sport and not worry about factors off the field,” he adds.
In the first phase, Lakshya is focusing on chess, badminton, tennis, table tennis, wrestling, boxing and cricket.
Last month, Lakshya roped in engineering giant Bharat Forge to sponsor its tennis squad that includes five top junior tennis players — Ankita Raina, Arjun Kadhe, Pratharna Thombare, Rutuja Bhosale and Sahil Deshmukh.
“We are happy to be one of the first corporations to have come forward in supporting and strengthening this initiative. It is sponsorships such as these that I believe go a long way in contributing to the development of these young sports talent and also encourage them on the demanding path to the top,” says Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director, Bharat Forge Ltd.
Once Lakshya signs up with the company, it provides management information system (MIS) reports, ensures that the player incorporates the sponsors’ corporate image and logos and so on and basically acts as a bridge between the company and the sportsperson. It also helps provide players with logistics support, training, apparel sponsorships, travelling aid, aid for diet and a career growth plan.
Lakshya currently operates only in Maharashtra but the founders have big expansion plans. For the next two years Maharashtra will be the focus after which the organisation plans to go pan-India. It currently supports 19 sports people between the age group of 12-19 years. The organisation is in talks with various other industry players like the Sanjay Ghodawat Group, Swastik Group, Sahyadri Industries, Praj Industries and the like to join the bandwagon.