Giving an impetus to women in sports

The transformative power of sports is well known. It transforms individuals and brings people together. As one of the youngest countries in the world, India has many young, talented sportspersons who can do wonders if given the right opportunities and support. In an initiative aimed at bringing greater gender parity in sports, Allcargo Logistics, Gati-KWE and ECU Worldwide have chosen to enable budding lady golf athletes with the support they need to shine bright.

In keeping with the organization’s core value, Care for Environment and Society and convinced about the benefits of sports for the youth, the companies have time and again demonstrated their commitment to encouraging emerging sportspersons by contributing to sports through their CSR arm, Avashya Foundation.

“We are committed to encourage talented sportspersons to pursue their passion, develop skills, and compete globally to bring laurels to our country. It has also been our mission to identify and support talented women golfers who’ll be representing India at the international level. We are sure Pranavi, Avani, and Sneha will make India and all of us proud,” says Mr. Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman, Allcargo Logistics, ECU Worldwide, and Gati while referring to the three young lady golfers, Avani Prashanth, Pranavi Urs, and Sneha Singh, who will be supported for a period of three years each.

Future of Indian golf

All three have shown great promise in golf, have significant achievements to their credit, and have been identified as potential medal-winners with the capabilities to represent India at an international level and bring pride and glory to the country.

• Bangalore’s Avani Prashanth (15) is one of India’s top-ranked amateurs. She won the IGU All-India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship crown and was also ranked 16th at the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship in Abu Dhabi last month, while being the youngest player to finish in the top 30 at the tournament. While she cannot join the pro ranks owing to their age limit of 16 years, she has already won twice on the Indian domestic pro tour. Avani has also been conferred the Global Child Prodigy Award 2022 for excellence in golf, for which she was selected from among 100 students across 48 categories and 68 countries.

• Hailing from Mysore, Pranavi Urs (18) is a four-time winner of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour (HWPGT), and recently competed at the prestigious Ladies European Tour pre-qualifying tournament in Spain. She has already won four times on the women’s domestic pro tour (WGAI) and is a former Faldo Asia Junior Finalist along with being a winner of the 2018 Singha World Junior in Thailand and All India Junior Girls.

• Sneha Singh (17) from Hyderabad is another talented young golfer who has shown great potential and won many accolades. She recently won her second Amateur title as she emerged the champion at the IGU Western India Ladies and Junior Girls Championship in Ahmedabad in September 2021. She has already won twice on the women’s domestic professional tour, the WGAI, and is the second-highest ranked Indian women’s amateur golfer in the World Rankings.

In what can be seen as a testament to the decision of supporting them, Avani and Sneha finished first and second respectively at the recently concluded IGU All-India Junior Golf Championship in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Betting on sports to build India

In addition to supporting these three golfers, Allcargo Logistics is fulfilling its commitment to encouraging sports by supporting golfing tournaments and sports organizations.

Allcargo was the presenting partner at the WIGA Junior Golf Championship – 2021, which it has been supporting for the past three years. Prior to which Allcargo and Gati-KWE also co-sponsored the World Corporate Golf Challenge which took place in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and New Delhi. The winners will play in the global finals in Portugal in the summer of 2022.

Conclusion

The support to the three lady golfers, and to the sporting tournaments is a testament to Allcargo and Gati-KWE’s commitment to encouraging sports and to investing in India’s youth. Also these various sporting events have proven that there is no dearth of sporting talent in India and that more and more women are considering sports as career. They just need someone to encourage them with the right support which Allcargo, Gati-KWE and ECU Worldwide are happy to provide.