PANAJI: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) launched Project Tokyo 2020 in a bid to provide Covid appropriate support to Tokyo bound Olympic and Paralympic athletes on behalf of corporate industries. FICCI has launched this project in recognition of the role of sports in promoting unity and inclusivity in society, says a press communique.
Chanakya Chaudhary, Co-Chair of Sports & Youth Affairs Committee, FICCI and Vice President – Corporate, TATA Steel Ltd announced the strategic support plan from FICCI for Project Tokyo 2020: Industry’s Covid Appropriate Support.
“As immediate measures, we are extending support to all our Tokyo bound athletes and their immediate families by initiating a PAN India free of cost vaccination drive for them. The immediate family members of the athletes can avail free virtual consultations with top doctors within their cities for a year. In addition, each Tokyo bound athlete will receive a Health & Wellbeing Kit consisting of some essential products like Fitness Bands, Oxymeters, Digital Thermometers, Reusable Face Masks, Sanitizers etc which we feel are apt for precautionary measures against COVID-19. Let us take this opportunity in a way of unification and innovation to emerge from this setback even stronger than before, by promoting the importance of live sporting events and supporting our Tokyo bound heroes in a befitting manner. The post-coronavirus world will need sport & its heroes, and we at FICCI are ready to contribute to shaping it with our moral values,” said Chaudhary.
Sunil Chatrapal Kedar, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Sports and Youth Welfare, Govt. of Maharashtra; officially launched Project Tokyo 2020 in a special address. He said: “FICCI has done a remarkable job to give a boost not just to the players, but their family as well. We should do everything in our capacity to encourage athletes and their family because sports are not just about winning medals, but they promote values for society as well. Sports teach us about equality in society and the value of never giving up on your goals. I pledge that the state of Maharashtra will always support FICCI in such initiatives.”
The launch event and the initiative from FICCI is supported by Mobile Premier League (MPL), Practo and Star Sports.
Dibyojyoti Mainak, Trustee, MPL Sports Foundation & SVP – Legal & Policy, MPL, spoke on the occasion of the launch. Mainak said: “It is a matter of great pride and pleasure for MPL to associate with FICCI for such a fantastic initiative. We at MPL are happy to have an opportunity to be able to support India’s Olympic athletes and their families in this time of need. Sports are integral to our society because it is a universal language where anyone can play irrespective of their background. This holds true more so for digital sports, which is why we aim to bridge the gap between physical and digital sports. We want to encourage athletes in the digital space and promote inclusivity by making sports more accessible.”
Dr. Deepa Malik, President, Paralympic Committee of India, concluded the event by addressing the gathering for the occasion to promote the need for inclusivity in sports. “Japan has laid out a fantastic message of inclusivity in sports during the opening ceremony of the Olympics by including paralympians and athletes from different racial backgrounds in the official ceremony. India still has a long way to go to adopt such an approach. I call upon corporate entities and private companies to support paralympians in the same manner as conventionally mainstream athletes. Paralympians are the biggest medium to make the mindset of our country more inclusive,” said Dr Malik.
Prominent Indian para-athlete Devendra Jhajharia addressed the audience and echoed the sentiment earlier conveyed by Dr. Malik. “Corporate institutions have a big role to play in the life of individual athletes. This holds true even more so for para-athletes as the support that we require is relatively higher. Corporate sponsors and private companies are key in lending a helping hand in terms of training and making resources available to athletes so that we can focus singularly on giving our best performance in our respective sports,” said Jhajharia.
Former World Number 1 men’s singles badminton player Kidambi Srikanth also weighed in on the matter of corporate support from an athlete’s perspective. Srikanth said: “This project launched by FICCI is a welcome initiative and will be appreciated by all the athletes in the Indian sports ecosystem. I feel grassroots development in sports is an aspect that can highly benefit from private intervention through development of physical and technical infrastructure. Private forums such as FICCI taking initiatives to develop sports is a welcome trend in recent years, and I am sure we will be able to see its benefits down the line sooner rather than later.”
