Leander Peas is 20-time Grand Slam winner. He is the first and only Indian to win a tennis medal at Olympics.
Kolkata: Legendary tennis star Leander Paes has joined hands with a Kolkata-based real estate company in a strategic collaboration with a sharp focus on creating an environment that promotes sports as a way of life through honing budding talent as well as creating a plethora of job opportunities for former sportspersons through a string of centres of excellence in West Bengal.
The first joint venture project is to create an Olympic-level infrastructure with state-of-the-art training facilities under top coaches and systems with structured modules for various age groups across multiple disciplines. This will be India’s first such multi-sports set-up, complete with sports science, analytics, sports medicine and nutrition.
“I’m excited about the Shrachi collaboration to create an ecosystem using sport for life, building tomorrow’s India and creating jobs for more Indians,” said Leander, who has won 20 Grand Slam titles in his glittering career.
Aware of its responsibility towards both sport and society, the partnership envisions to invest in innovations, including support and development for elite sport as well as leisure and recreational sports. It will also like to dovetail application-based sports education with curriculum-based performing arts, especially theatre, literature, painting and local folk art.
The university will continuously promote inter-disciplinary exchanges and close cooperation with various fields involved in the application of sport, encourage new academic talent and offer students specialized training in academically-oriented career profiles.
Paes also envisions in leveraging sports as a catalyst for building more robust ecosystems within communities. His ambitious plan entails reaching out to 250 million Indian children within the next 15 years. The partnership strategically targets a variety of sports, including hockey, athletics, tennis, badminton, and table tennis, in addition to the widely popular cricket and football.
At the heart of their strategy are grassroots-level coaching camps led by former players, fostering a symbiotic relationship. This approach not only imparts valuable knowledge to aspiring athletes but also generates employment opportunities for the players turned mentors. This multifaceted initiative is anticipated to unlock a myriad of prospects for athletes across diverse sports.
A pivotal aspect of their vision involves the development of a sports curriculum, further solidifying their commitment to fostering a well-rounded sporting education.