Housing Development Finance Corporation or GoSports Foundation have together launched “Unstoppable – Karke Dikhaungi” scholarship program to support female athletes and sports coaches.The scheme, run by Parivartan, HDFC Bank’s umbrella brand for all social activities, will identify and support young female athletes from around the country in their pursuit of sporting achievement.
The GoSports Foundation’s effort will focus on the growth of women in sports in India. The Foundation will curate and implement the curriculum, with HDFC Bank serving as the exclusive partner for three years.
India’s sportswomen confront numerous problems, including a lack of adequate facilities, a lack of financial compensation, restricted cultural dogmas, and so on. The course tries to address these issues. Along with meeting their competition and travel, training, equipment, coaching, and sports science needs, the programme will seek to increase equity and diversity in Indian sports by developing new female champions and role models for society.
The project is seeking applications from deserving athletes at the state and national levels in all sports disciplines, including Olympic, Paralympic, Winter Games, and Motorsports. Its goal is to help a broad group of individuals reach their athletic potential.
Applications are accepted for one month, from May 24th to June 24th, 2022. Shortlisted athletes will be invited in for internal evaluations and further consideration for the following phases. This would involve comments from coaches and experts, interviews, and due diligence. The athlete selecting procedure would take approximately 100 days.
Finally, 20 athletes will receive scholarships and comprehensive support for their athletic journeys and critical points in their careers. The top 100 shortlisted athletes in the third stage of this process will have access to education seminars on a variety of relevant topics throughout the year.
In the second phase of the scheme, coaches will be able to apply for yearly scholarships. They, like athletes, will receive financial and non-financial support for their growth and development.
The scheme would grant annual cash scholarships ranging from INR 5-10 lakhs on average to athletes and roughly INR 5 lakhs to coaches.
As a socially responsible corporate citizen, we aimed to contribute sporting talent in the country,” stated Ashima Bhat, Group Head of CSR, Business Finance, or Infrastructure at Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC Bank).
In our country, sports play a very important role in the complete development of children. Many outstanding athletes quit out early in their careers due to a lack of proper resources and infrastructure to support them. This course is intended to close some of these gaps, allowing our athletes and coaches to flourish in their respective sports. “It is our goal to discover talent and help them achieve greatness on the national and international stages,” she said.
“#Parivartan, the flagship CSR program, acts as a catalyst for bringing out good in society,” stated Ms. Nusrat Pathan, Head of CSR.
Apart from facing infrastructure challenges, women athletes also have to navigate through societal and cultural biases in the realm of sports.
We are thrilled to collaborate with the GoSports Foundation to promote more equality and diversity in the sector. This is consistent with some of the greater strategic goals of our Parivartan initiative.”
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The GoSports Foundation is a National Sports Award (Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Pururskar)-winning non-profit trust founded in 2008 to support the development of some of India’s most promising developing and elite athletes across many sports disciplines.
Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio and Tokyo, the Foundation has supported 16 Olympians and 27 Paralympians, including ten Paralympic medalists.
During the launch, Ms. Deepthi Bopaiah, CEO of GoSports Foundation, stated, “Over the decades, there have been numerous exceptional milestones created by women sporting champions.
They have shaped history by shifting preconceptions, overcoming barriers, and motivating communities through athletics.
Over the last 13 years, the GoSports Foundation has been fortunate to be a part of many such journeys, including those of Bhavani Devi, Dipa Karmakar, Avani Lekhara, and many more champions.
We are thrilled to have HDFC Bank on board to establish a one-of-a-kind programme for young girls and women athletes that focuses on their whole development throughout their athletic careers. We are delighted to kick off this programme and continue to modify the script.”
The program also focuses on critical aspects such as Menstrual Health and Hygiene, Mental Health as well as Secure Environments for Women in Sports to Relax or Refuel and Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) through research, outreach, and advocacy to bring about change in India’s sporting ecosystem and enable women in sport to rise and blaze their own trail without hesitation.
Source: HDFC Bank
