Olympians Association of India Launched For Welfare of Athletes
The Olympians Association of India has drawn a road map and has put emphasis on a few areas for the development of the athletes such as outreach, education and skill development, education and health insurance and pension and mentorship of young athletes
Highlights
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OAI was launched to look after welfare of current and former athletes
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Shiva Keshavan, Viren Rasquinha, Saina Nehwal among founders
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OAI formulated a road map for development of sports across the country
In the presence of sporting legends, the Olympians Association of India (OAI) was launched on Monday with an aim to look after the welfare of former and current athletes from across the country.
It is a representative body of Olympians in India.
The first and only non-profit organisation by Olympians for Olympians in India, the OAI is directly affiliated to the World Olympians Association (WOA) under the International Olympic Committee.
The OAI proposes to look after the welfare of former and current Olympians through their careers and beyond and has been founded by acclaimed Olympians Shiva Keshavan (luge), Viren Rasquinha (hockey), Malav Shroff (sailing), Adille Sumariwalla (athletics), Ashwini Nachappa (athletics), Saina Nehwal (badminton), Hakimuddin Habibulla (swimming) and MC Mary Kom (boxing).
Other prominent members in the body include Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, minister of Information and Broadcasting, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, double Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar, bronze medal winners Yogeshwar Dutt, London Games bronze winner Gagan Narang and Beijing Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijendra Singh among others.
The OAI has drawn a road map and has put emphasis on a few areas for the development of the athletes such as outreach, education and skill development, education and health insurance and pension, mentorship of young athletes, legal advice and IOC athlete career programme.
© NDTV
They have also announced a mentorship programme for the young athletes which will guide them during their formative years and shape their future. They would also be extending legal advice to the Olympians as well as work in tandem with the IOC athlete career programme. 2004 Athens Games silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who was present at the event and launched the official OAI website, believed that it is a great initiative and will do wonders for the Indian Olympians.
"It is an organisation which is formed by Olympians for the Olympians. The brains behind this great initiative are all very accomplished Olympians and a single platform like this to join all the Olympians around the country is a huge step towards sports in this country," said Rathore. All Indian Olympians will be registered members and will contribute for the cause and at the same time mutually benefit from projects initiated by the OAI.