Enthused by our core value of Care for Environment and Society, our CSR arm, Avashya Foundation has been creating tangible change in the areas of Education, Environment, Health, Women Empowerment, Disaster Relief and Sports. Here, we are happy to share with you the progress in our endeavours to create a better world.  

Celebrating India’s Sporting Triumphs with our partner OGQ

Few experiences have the uniting power likes sports does, and when our Indian athletes shone on the global sporting arena recently, they united a billion citizens in pride. We are happy to support out CSR partner, OGQ, in their quest to help Indian athletes win gold at international competitions.

The incredible journeys to the world’s most prestigious sporting competition is filled with awe-inspiring hard work, rigorous training regimes, and unrelenting focus. As we celebrate the victories of the winners, and the efforts of the entire contingent, we also applaud the efforts of their teams, and supporters – one of whom is OGQ, a not-for- profit organization that Avashya Foundation supports.  Sports being a key CSR intervention area for us, we support OGQ in the amazing work they do to scout and mentor Indian athletes to compete internationally and earn laurels for the country.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), all National Sports Federations (NSF), and the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) are the key stakeholders supporting and enabling Indian athletes to compete internationally. OGQ works in close collaboration with all these stakeholders to support Indian athletes.

OGQ – supporting Indian athletes and para athletes in their training

OGQ is the brainchild of Indian sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone. It is a not-for-profit foundation which is committed to supporting the best athletes in India by collaboratively working with the government and national sports federations with the aim of helping Indian athletes win Gold medals.

At the Paris Games, OGQ played a part in supporting the training of around 45% of the Indian contingent. That’s 49 of the 110 athletes. (9 of these athletes are supported through OGQ’s MOU with the National Sports Federations of Shooting & Boxing). In fact, the training of 4 of the 6 medal winners was supported by OGQ in collaboration with the key stakeholders mentioned above.

Aman Sehrawat

Manu Bhaker

Manu Bhaker (22), bagged India’s first medal in Paris by clinching the Bronze medal in the Women’s 10M Air Pistol event with a score of 221.7 in the final. 

OGQ has been supporting Manu in her training since 2018 through the Junior Program when she was only 16 years old. At that time, OGQ provided her with an electronic target at her home in Jhajjar, Haryana, to ensure that she could train in a focused manner. They also supported Manu with a personal coach, equipment and sports science needs focusing extensively on her nutrition and sports psychology in her preparation. OGQ also has a MOU with NRAI through which they are able to provide sports science and coaching support to Manu and all other shooters

Manu created history by becoming the first Indian athlete in independent India to win two medals in the same edition of the games, when she and Sarabjot earned India’s first ever medal in the 10M Pistol Mixed Team event.

Sarabjot Singh

Sarabjot Singh (22), who won the Bronze medal in the 10M Pistol Mixed Team event along with Manu, is the youngest male shooter to win a medal at the event.

OGQ has been supporting Sarabjot’s training for the last 2 years. Last year, when Sarabjot suffered a severe shoulder injury during the crucial period of the qualifications for the games. OGQ immediately supported him with medical interventions and dedicated nutrition, sports psychology and physiotherapy programs to ensure speedy recovery after which he won a quota for the Paris Games. OGQ also supports him with a personal coach, weapon and ammunition, and tournament exposure. 

Swapnil Kusale

Swapnil Kusale (28) earned the Bronze medal in the 50M Rifle 3 Position in the event at Paris, becoming the first ever Indian shooter to win a medal in this category. With 3 medals, this now becomes India’s highest medal tally so far in shooting at a single edition of the games.

Swapnil hails from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, where his father is a school teacher and mother is the village head (Sarpanch).  OGQ has been supporting Swapnil since the last 2 years in his training with sports science – nutrition, physiotherapy, weapon and ammunition, personal coach, as well as domestic and international competitions.

At the 2022 World Championships and at the Asian Games last year, Swapnil finished 4th and missed out on a medal because of just one bad shot. However, on the world’s biggest sporting arena, Swapnil displayed immense grit, composure, and consistency in what is known as the most challenging event in Shooting. 

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As we bask in the glory of our athletes’ achievements, we celebrate not only the victories but the incredible journeys that led to them, with unwavering support of the government, National sports federations and organizations such as OGQ. Their commitment to nurturing talent, overcoming challenges, and providing world-class resources has empowered many athletes to rise to the top, and reaffirms our belief in supporting sportspersons though our CSR initiatives.