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24 January 2014, Chennai: GoSports Foundation today announced the list of athletes who will be supported as part of their sports scholarship programmes for 2014. The scholarships comprise of three categories: The ACE Management Programme, the PACE Scholarships Programme and the PACER Special Grants, based on the athletes’ level of competition and the nature of support being offered.
Amongst the recipients of the scholarship programs are some of the city’s most promising athletes, representing the nation in various national and international level competitions. While Ganapathy KC is amongst the chosen five, set to be a part of the ACE Management Programme, one of the city’s most promising athletes Augustine Yesudas will be receiving the PACER Special Grant.
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Speaking about the various levels of support, GoSports Foundation Managing Trustee Nandan Kamath said, “The scholarship programmes of GoSports Foundation are customised to offer high-impact athlete specific interventions. While the top senior athletes receive mentorship from senior sportspersons, access to scientific expertise, performance and injury management, and allied professional services, the junior athletes receive monetary support in order to cover certain critical expenses. Through the course of the year, GoSports Foundation will aim to make valuable contributions to each of the athletes’ sporting journeys.”
World number 30 badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, who is currently spearheading the Indian challenge at the Indian Open Grand Prix Event in Lucknow, said, “I’m extremely grateful for the support offered to me by GoSports Foundation for the past two years. The financial grant has helped me participate in more tournaments abroad, and improve my world ranking. With continued support, I hope to perform better and finish 2014 as a top-15 player in the world.”
A detailed description of the scholarship programs are given below:
THE ACE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME 2014
ACE Management Programme is a high-performance elite athlete management programme. Athletes who are part of the ACE Management Programme will be offered pro bono advisory and consultation services by the GoSports Foundation’s panel of experts, consisting of nutritionists, psychologists, fitness trainers, lawyers, media and public relations experts, etc. 2013 PGTI Rookie of the Year golfer Chikkarangappa S, Paralympian swimmer Sharath Gayakwad, and rising stars of Indian Badminton HS Prannoy, RMV Gurusaidutt and Sourabh Verma are the 5 athletes who will be part of the ACE Management Programme for 2014.
THE PACE SCHOLARSHIPS PROGRAMME 2014
PACE Scholarships are offered by the GoSports Foundation to promising junior athletes from Olympic and Paralympic disciplines in their run-up to graduating to senior competition. The PACE Scholarships are primarily merit-based, with need being a significant consideration.
Athletes part of the PACE Scholarships Programme are aged between 13 and 21 years, and are high-performing juniors competing at the national and international circuit in their chosen sport. Olympian paddler Soumyajit Ghosh, National Badminton Champion Kidambi Srikanth, and junior Davis Cupper Nikshep BR feature among the 16 athletes who will be part of this programme in 2014.
THE PACER SPECIAL GRANTS 2014
The GoSports Foundation PACER Special Grants are offered to talented athletes from Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. The Foundation works with the chosen athletes on specific projects with objectives personalized to their needs. These include providing athletes access to fitness experts, or helping injured athletes undergo treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
Listed below are names of the athletes part of the GoSports Foundation sports scholarship programmes for 2014.
ACE Management athletes for 2014:
| Sl. No. | Name | Sport | Major Achievement(s) |
| 1. | Chikkarangappa SBangalore | Golf | Rookie of the Year on the Professional Golf Tour of India; ranked no. 2 in 2013 |
| 2. | Sharath M GayakwadBangalore | Para-swimming | India’s lone representative in swimming at the Paralympic Games, London 2012 |
| 3. | HS PrannoyHyderabad | Badminton | Ranked no. 5 in India, no. 47 in the world; silver medalist at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore |
| 4. | RMV GurusaiduttHyderabad | Badminton | Ranked no. 2 in India and no. 27 in the world; gold medalist at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune |
| 5. | Sourabh VermaHyderabad | Badminton | Ranked no. 4 in India and no. 50 in the world; gold medalist at the 2012 Senior National Championships in Bangalore |
PACE Scholars for 2014:
| Sl. No. | Name | Sport | Major Achievement(s) |
| 1. | Kidambi SrikanthHyderabad | Badminton | Ranked no. 1 in India and no. 38 in the world; reigning National Champion; singles champion at the 2013 Thailand Open and 2012 Maldives Open |
| 2. | Sameer VermaHyderabad | Badminton | Men’s singles champion at the 2014 All India Senior Ranking Championships in Bareilly |
| 3. | Ruthvika ShivaniHyderabad | Badminton | Ranked no. 3 in India (U-19); quarter-finalist at the 2012 Asian Youth Badminton Championships in China |
| 4. | Shikha Rajesh GautamBangalore | Badminton | Ranked no. 1 in India (U-17); bronze medalist at the 2013 Junior National Championships in Chandigarh |
| 5. | Arvind ManiBangalore | Swimming | Junior National Champion in 2013; national record holder in multiple events |
| 6. | Rohit ImoliyaBangalore | Swimming | National record holder in 50m backstroke (U-17) |
| 7. | Supriya MondalBangalore | Swimming | National record holder in 200m butterfly (U-17) |
| 8. | Mohammed Yaqoob SaleemBangalore | Swimming | National record holder in 200m and 400m freestyle (U-17) |
| 9. | Soumyajit GhoshWest Bengal | Table Tennis | London 2012 Olympian; youngest men’s singles National Champion |
| 10. | Harmeet DesaiGujarat | Table Tennis | Bronze medalist at the 2013 Brazil Open; winner of the 2012 Brazil Open |
| 11. | Sathiyan GChennai | Table Tennis | Singles champion at the 2014 Youth National Championships; gold medalist at the 2012 Egypt Open |
| 12. | Abhishek YadavLucknow | Table Tennis | Bronze medalist at the 2013 Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China |
| 13. | Niranjan MukundanBangalore | Para-swimming | Ranked no. 17 in the world in 100m butterfly; winner of 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 2013 IWAS World Junior Games in Puerto Rico |
| 14. | Manoj SarkarUttarakhand | Para-badminton | Doubles winner at the 2013 German World Championships; singles champion at the 2012 International Para-badminton Tournament in France |
| 15. | Nikshep BRBangalore | Tennis | Ranked no. 1 in India (U-16) and no. 361 in the ITF Junior Rankings; Junior Davis Cupper |
| 16. | Ganapathy KCChennai | Sailing | First Indian sailor to win an international youth medal in Sailing; winner of the 2013 EuroCup Regatta Series (29er class sailboat) |
The recipients of the PACER Special Grants for 2014 are:
| Sl. No. | Name | Sport | Major Achievement(s) |
| 1. | Vrushali GummadiHyderabad | Badminton | Ranked no. 5 in India (U-17); Gold medalist at the 2012 All India Sub-junior Ranking Tournament in Bangalore |
| 2. | Augustine YesudasChennai | Athletics (100m and 200m) | Gold medalist in the 100m event at the 2013 South Asian Athletics Championships in Ranchi |
The GoSports Foundation is a non-profit venture primarily focused on the development of India’s best and most promising junior Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Through its scholarship programmes, GoSports Foundation has supported more than 50 high-performing junior athletes, helping them further their sporting careers. The Foundation also conducts coach and athlete education and knowledge-building programmes aimed at improving the sporting ecosystem in India.
