CII and Olympic Gold Quest join hands for Sports
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed an Agreement with Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), an initiative of sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone to identify and support Indian athletes with a proven track record. Geet Sethi, Director, Olympic Gold Quest and nine times Cue Sports World Champion said, “It has been a dream for everyone at OGQ, not just to help Indian athletes win Olympic gold medals but also to make OGQ a movement. We definitely need much more corporate involvement in sports today and we are very happy to join hands with CII in making our dreams a reality.”
The MoU signed by Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII and Mr Geet Sethi, Director, OQG, is aimed at promoting corporate involvement in sports through a formal tie-up with OGQ. Additionally, Leander Paes, a 12 time Grand Slam Tennis Champion and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee and Viswanathan Anand, 4 time World Chess Champion and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee are also Directors of OGQ.
According to Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, “CII is committed towards building on India’s image as a sporting nation by encouraging deepening corporate involvement in sports. By signing the MOU, CII plans to promote corporate participation in this noble endeavour of OGQ and aiming towards excellence in sports and international sporting events”. It would bring together the two powerhouses, Olympic Gold Quest with its top class athletes and CII with its ability to involve the key influencers within the Indian corporate world.
OGQ is a program of the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games which is committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and the world thus helping Indian athletes to win Olympic Gold medals. Some of the athletes that OGQ supports are Mary Kom, Gagan Narang, Saina Nehwal and 19 athletes from the P T Usha School of Atheletics. By 2020 Olympics OGQ aims to support 100 athletes.
“CII has shown great desire and initiative in supporting OGQ and we warmly welcome their efforts and involvement. A sustained model of fund raising is key to an effective long term approach to the challenge of grooming young sports talent effectively to become future Olympic champions. CII can play the role of a catalyst to help OGQ achieve these objectives” said Viren Rasquinha, CEO, Olympic Gold Quest and former Indian hockey captain.