Bokaro : ESL Steel Limited, a Vedanta Group Company and a key national steel player, has launched an archery academy in Hundru, Siyaljori to support and promote the sport in Jharkhand, which has traditionally been involved in the field of archery and has produced some of the finest talent in the field.
Recognizing the importance of preserving this legacy, ESL launched the ‘Archery Academy’ to train 35 individuals under experts from the field. The state-of-the-art academy is fully equipped with facilities including accommodation, dining, gym, archery kits, uniforms and medical facility.
Speaking on the occasion, Pankaj Malhan, CEO, ESL Steel Limited said, “ESL’s vision is to develop the Archery Academy as a Centre of Excellence in Jharkhand encourage the students passionate about the sport. With expert guidance, we hope that they will be able to represent the state at various events and tournaments and make India proud. It gives me immense satisfaction to see students shine at sports and take great interest in learning the nuances of the game. I hope we are able to contribute towards more such initiatives.”
Under the initiative, children from the marginalized section are being selected based on the academy’s selection criteria. The children are being trained under three categories: Under 9, under 14 and under 17.
Sushma Devi, President Zila Parishad, Bokaro added, “This is another student-centric initiative by ESL. The Archery Academy is a step in the right direction as it enables the students to pursue their passion and make the state proud. The experts at the academy will instill the students with qualities that are required to win at the state and national level games. ESL has always shown compassion towards the community and I wish that this new project proves to be as fruitful as the previous ones.”
Hiralal Manjhi President JMM and Vice President Zila Parishad, Bokaro said, “this is an excellent initiative taken by Vedanta ESL, which is very popular in Jharkhand. It will help our community’s children to make their career in sports and achieve their goal”.
The event was attended by Sushma Devi, President Zila Parishad, Bokaro, Hiralal Manjhi, President JMM and Vice President Zila Parishad, Bokaro as a guest and Pankaj Malhan, CEO, S Venkataraman, CHRO, Sumit Burman, CSO, Ashish Ranjan, Head Community Relations, ESL Steel Limited were also present during the event.
The archery team consists of project lead Shardenduram Tripathi, project support Chandi Chatterjee, head coach Budheshwar Murmmu, assistant coach Hemant Kumar, physical trainer S. P. Ghosh and two ground staff members – Sudhan Rajak and Sanjay Rajak.
– Varnan Live Report.