A recently launched sports startup, Athletes Today is looking to mentor budding and established sportsmen and sportswomen to give them what most Indian sportsmen lack today, a business opportunity and recognition. In India, apart from Cricket, no other sport is given decent weightage. This has led to only a few sportsmen or sportswomen like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sania Mirza, among few others being recognized. Athletes Today was founded by and comprises of sports enthusiasts who want to mentor all kinds of sportsmen and sportswomen so that they reach their full potential, get a business opportunity and become recognized.
Athletes Today has two business models, one is for mentoring budding sportsmen and sportswomen right from the start/scratch, to hone their sports talent/s and help them reach their maximum potential. The other one is for established sportsmen or sportswomen where they provide sponsorship, media representations, branding, among other services. Co – founder, Abishek Sharma said, “Between the ages of 16 to 21, an athlete is either mentored or guided by their coach or family members. We are looking to fill that gap and provide them with the support that will help them achieve their best”.
Athletes Today was founded by Abishek Sharma and Radhika Arora. Athletes Today provides mentorship for sportsmen and sportswomen who play football, hockey and badminton. It is currently collaborating with six professional athletes and several promising ones. The company is also eager to provide mentorship to sportsmen and sportswomen, who play other sports that are also not well recognized in India, like swimming, pole vaulting, archery, diving, etcetera, in the future. “We want to get together with sportsmen from cycling, skateboarding, track and any other sport that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Moreover, we are looking to get that one top athlete in any sport who will go on to be the future Milkha Singh or Sachin Tendulkar etcetera”, said Abishek Sharma. Read more on Mentoring
India is a country that has an ocean of diversified talents. Unfortunately, due to social mindset, many sports in India are not getting recognized. Due to this mindset, many budding sportsmen and sportswomen who play unpopular sports like football, badminton, archery, diving, etcetera do not get any business opportunity and thereby are unable to get a career and recognition for themselves. They are forced to join mainstream sports like Cricket or popular businesses like IT. This is a sad situation in India and needs to change. If all sports in India get due recognition, many budding sportsmen and sportswomen in India, would be able to shine and make India proud in all the sports that are being played in the Olympics. It would put India in the global stage as far as sports are concerned. It would also create career opportunities to aspirants who wish to play those sports domestically and internationally. It is heartening to see an Indian startup like Athletes Today, come forward to undertake such a noble initiative. The government of India should give awards to and fund such startups. Read more on Startup News
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