12/9/2018, Chennai: With the Asian Games just having finished, we saw a multitude of Indian talent bagging medals at an International level; but all their stories have one string in common. They wish they had more information at the right time, more guidance by the right people and more amenities at the right place.
Talentathon will be one of India’s largest sport talent hunt event for youth aged 4yrs -12yrs aimed at recognizing talent young, the event will bring together an estimated 10,000 children who will test their abilities at 8 different sports, judged by 8 mentors, and be directed toward the right training and access to the industry network.
Talentathon will cover 8 different sports at one venue, Cricket, Tennis, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Athletics, Table Tennis and Badminton. Each sport has a mentor, who is a renowned name in the Indian Sports Industry
Dav Whatmore - CRICKET
Coach World Cup Winner - Sri Lanka 1996, Coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders team from 2009 to 2012, Coach Asia Cup Winner – Pakistan
SOMDEV DEVVARMAN - TENNIS
NCAA - 3 Years in finals (Record), Top 50 Singles World Ranking, Asian Games Gold, Davis Cupper, Arjuna Awardee, Padma Shri
VASUDEVAN BASKARAN - HOCKEY
World Cup Winning Team 1975, Captain Olympic Gold Team 1980, Indian Team Coach, Arjuna Awardee
ANAND NATARAJAN - ATHLETICS
100 mts National Champion - 9 Years, South Asia's Fastest Man - 3 Years, Represented India - Olympics / Commonwealth Games / World Championship
ARUL SELVI - TABLE TENNIS
National Champion, Represented India, Coach Indian Women's Team
JAYASANKAR MENON - BASKETBALL
Asian All Star Basketball player Former Indian Captain, Sports Committee member - FICCI
Each mentor will judge the ability of the child in various sports and decipher their natural capability in the right sport. The child who is selected will undergo further tests and thereafter be coached in specialized academies for different sports overseen by former champions assisted by leading coaches
Sukesh Menon, founder of Talentathon, also a Tennis coach with over 35+ years of experience, who has trained many a State and National Champions, says, “I have seen the Indian Sports Industry grow from a very nascent stage. I want to do more to push our Indian youth to the forefront with the right opportunities in sport. There is so much talent and potential, they just need the platform. That’s what I aim to do with Talentathon. I hope this event will give future Olympic medallists a chance to be discovered at the right time, by the right people.”
Talentathon’s first edition is taking place from the 5th – 7th October 2018 at Centre of Sports Science, Chennai. Registrations are now open at www.talentathon.in
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About
Talentathon is conducted by ACEPRO, The pioneer in Academies organising tournaments starting way back in 1995 in Chennai & other parts of South India. Since 2001 ACEPRO has been conducting Multi Sport Events and the proceeds are utilised to support active Charities.
Founder
Sukesh Menon
57 years, Tennis coach, Coached many a State & National champions in tennis. Coached players in many countries worldwide.
Sukesh Menon has a history of taking initiative within the sports industry in India, specifically Chennai. He is a man of action, whenever he sees a gap in the opportunities, platforms available for young sportsmen, he steps up and single-handedly organizes them.
Talentathon, his brainchild was born out of the need for Indian sports talent to be identified young, at the right age. He believes that Talent Identification is an art and nurturing the talent is a skill. He knew there needed to be deliberate attempts and arenas to discover the right talent, at the right time, and the right age. Further guide these talented youth and give them direction in coaching, academies, amenities and more.
Follow up to Talentathon, he hopes to set up academies for all the 8 sports involved. Aspire to develop champion in multi-sports.