From Football to Olympics: Highlights of Reliance Foundation’s Sports Initiatives – News18

Since 2013, the Reliance Foundation’s sports chapter has been working to create a world-class sporting ecosystem and enhancing athletes’ performance to help them excel at the highest levels of global sport, all the way to the Olympics. Chaired by Nita Ambani, the foundation has expanded from a single program in 2013 to support over 200 athletes across more than 10 sports disciplines. Since its inception, the foundation’s initiatives have positively impacted the lives of over 22.9 million children and youth in India.

Here’s a look at the highlights of the Reliance Foundation’s sports initiatives:

• Launched in 2019, the foundations scholarship program supports athletes and organizations in pursuits for Olympic success. The program currently supports over 50 athletes across 10+ sports, to create a pipeline of young athletes capable of achieving international success
• Reliance Foundation athletes Lovlina Borgohain, Kishore Kumar Jena, Manika Batra, Reetika Hooda, Nisha Dahiya and Anush Agarwalla have so far qualified for the Paris 2024 games, while Tilottama Sen and Palak Gulia were notable names who earned quota places for the Paris Olympics. Sandeep Singh topped the shooting selection trials in the marquee 10m air rifle event. Amir Ahmad Bhat (shooting) has qualified for the Para Olympics. Bhowneesh Mendiratta is also a quota holder in shooting while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is the reserve player in the table tennis team. Jyothi Yarraji is also on course for Olympics qualification by virtue of her ranking.
• Kishore (javelin throw) and Lovlina (women’s boxing) have directly qualified, while Reetika and Nisha (women’s wrestling) earned a qualification. Newly signed Reliance Foundation athlete Anush Agarwalla, obtained India’s first-ever dressage quota in equestrian.
• While five of the seven athletes mentioned above are women, three of them are of age 22 or lower. Tilottama (16) and Palak (18) are still teenagers, with Tilottama also being the youngest Indian shooter ever to earn a qualification berth for the Olympics. Mrs Ambani has emphasized on the importance of backing women in sport and RF has over 50 per cent female athletes in its scholarship programme.
• Reliance Foundation also has one of the most robust and well-defined athletics programs in India, overseen by renowned coach James Hillier, and boasts three facilities: The National Athletics Centre in Navi Mumbai, the Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre, and the Endurance Training program in Bengaluru and Ooty. The Odisha centre is India’s first indoor athletics facility.
• The foundation’s athletics program has produced some of India’s leading athletes like Jyothi Yarraji and Amlan Borgohain as well as very promising young talent like Animesh Kujur, Bapi Hansda, among others.
• Jyothi Yarraji is the national record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles event and the only Indian woman in history to run below the 13s mark in the event. Amlan Borgohain is the national record holder in the men’s 200m event, while Animesh Kujur is the second fastest Indian in the same event in history. Bapi Hansda is the first Indian ever to win silver in the men’s 400m hurdles event at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships and has already qualified for the World Junior Athletics Championships later this year.
• The foundation has significantly impacted India’s football ecosystem, especially at the grassroots level. Initiatives like the Naupang League (5-6 yrs onwards), Reliance Foundation Development League (U21), and RFYS (school and college tournaments for boys and girls) provide young players with opportunities to develop.
• The Reliance Foundation also operates the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC), India’s top residential football academy, certified by the All India Football Federation. The academy not only focuses on football skills but also education and personality development for over 90 children.
• The dedicated department for sports science and medicine at the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital features some of the leading experts in areas such as sports science and medicine, nutrition, psychology, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, and injury rehabilitation. Providing high quality support to the country’s top athletes in multiple Olympic sports to enhance their holistic wellness and performance through a dynamic hub-and-spoke model and cutting-edge technology.
• To improve India’s prospects at the Olympic Games and other prestigious international sporting events, Reliance Foundation Sports provides sports science and related support to sports federations and organizations, including the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) through development partnerships aimed at achieving Olympic success.

India House at the Paris Olympics 2024

Building on the momentum from the IOC Session in October 2023, the Reliance Foundation, in partnership with the IOA, will establish the first-ever India House at the Paris Olympics, 2024. India House will serve as a showcase of India to the world, marking 100 years of India’s participation in the Olympics to fans from across the world, to key stakeholders from the global sports world, Indian travellers, media and athletes. It will also be the first time that Indian athletes will have a home at the Olympics that will look to celebrate India’s sporting achievements and sportspersons.

Stay updated with the latest from Euro 2024. Explore Euro 2024 Match Today. Check Updated list of Highest Goal-Scorer in Euro 2024. CheckEuro 2024 Points Table and Euro 2024 Match Results and Euro 2024 Match Schedule .