By Kirti Patil
Pune: Winner of the National Sports Award for Sports Promotion, Lakshya, on Saturday announced the signing of 12 new players for 360 Degree Support expanding its Strength to 40 players across various sports disciplines. A new Monitoring App titled GOLD was also Launched to mark the 13th anniversary of Lakshya.
“There has been steady progress in our Support to players from across the Country , I am glad and humbled to acknowledge that we are living at a time when sports in our country has grown from just a hobby to a serious commitment – professionally and personally , “is how Satyen Patel , President of Lakshya expressed his feelings .
“Sports is taken seriously not just by the athletes or the federations, but also by the government and many organizations, who are working tirelessly towards taking Indian athletes to new heights. Lakshya is proud to be part of the ecosystem that has been created in the past decade. Being part of the Lakshya family, it fills me with immense pride and joy when I see Indian athletes – whether they are part of Lakshya or not – do well at the international stage and make our country’s flag rise high, Patel said.
The new Signees by Lakshya in 2022-23 Include Alfiya Pathan Boxing Gold at Senior Asian Boxing Championship 2022; Devika Ghorpade gold at Youth World Boxing Championship ;Ashish Kumar Boxing Member of Tokyo Olympics andBirmingham Commonwealth Games; Divya Kakran, Bronze medallist at Commonwealth Games 2022; Sunil Kumar Wrestling Gold at Under- 23Asian Wrestling Championship; Reeth Rishya, member of Commonwealth Games Table Tennis team;Akanksha Nitture Tennis Finalist at Fenesta Open Tennis National Championships in doubles; Jennifer Varghese National Champion 2022 in U-15 category; Taneesha Kotecha ,Silver Medallist at U-19 National Championships 2022;Sneha Soren;Anish Danei Silver Medallist at Asian Badminton Championships. 2022.
Alfiya’s sponsorship funds will be made by Morde foods and that for the fellow boxer Devika Edelgive has promised funds.
Sunder Iyer, Secretary of Lakshya said the aim was see India on top of the Olympics table.
“This is a dream that we all know is possible. We are Supporting over 40 Athletes with a ratio of 32% Males and 68% females,” Iyer informed.
The Average Age of Players supported by Lakshya is 21 years. The sports NGO is currently supporting 24 Junior Athletes and 16 Senior Athletes who have fetched over 102 Medals which include 13 in Major International Events , 23 in International events and 68 at National Levels out of these 83 Medals are won by Women and 19 by Men.
Iyer added ” We at Lakshya, on the other hand, are also growing with our athletes. We are focusing on not just supporting our athletes financially, but also making them physically and mentally strong. “ we have aided our players with Fitness tests; Mental Conditioning Sessions. Nutritional Counselling Sessions, Injury Management needing surgical interventions and s Mental Toughness assessments through the year,” added Iyer.
The results have been overwhelming with Devika Ghorpade becoming World Youth Boxing Champion 2022, Alfiya Pathan Winning the Senior Asian Boxing Championship , Sharath Kamal Commonwealth Games Gold , Divya Kakran Commonwealth Games Bronze , Suhana Saini World Youth Championship -2022 Bronze -Doubles, Team -Bronze , Sajan Bhanwal U-23 World Wrestling Championship -2022 Bronze.
