Greater Noida – Sportz Village, India’s largest school sports organization dedicated to creating champions both on and off the field, announced the launch of its PathwayZ36 initiative. The initiative aims to identify and nurture sporting talent from its PAN India partner school ecosystem as well as national grassroot programs, strengthening the pipe of national and international athletes. The launch event was graced by Anju Bobby George, Padma Shri, Arjuna Award and Khel Ratna awardee, who is an inspiration for aspiring athletes across India.
While speaking about the importance of athlete support structures and the role of corporate India in developing sports, Mrs. George emphasized the need for early talent identification and consistent support, stating, “It is crucial to identify young talent early and provide them with the right guidance, resources and opportunities. Initiatives like PathwayZ36 ensure that our youth not only dreams of representing the nation and winning medals but are given a clear pathway to achieve it. I commend Sportz Village for taking this important step to nurture future champions.
Saumil Majmudar, Co-Founder, CEO & Managing Director of Sportz Village, added, “Sportz Village, for past 21 years, has been committedly making sports and physical education accessible, enjoyable and a key part of every child’s education and growth journey by collaborating with schools – thus creating champions in life. PathwayZ36 is a major step forward, where we want to ensure talent is identified and nurtured from an early stage to enable building of a larger talent pool for the country.”
Parminder Gill, Co-Founder & Head of Foundation, Sportz Village, added, “We feel there is a genuine need to support the athletes coming out of grassroot programs in their pursuit to become elite athletes. PathwayZ36 is our effort to strengthen existing pipe of national and international athletes and become a feeder to elite programs. The short to mid-term vision of PathwayZ36 is to produce athletes at National level. And 36 in PathwayZ36 embodies our larger mission to create athletes for India’s success at 2036 Olympics and beyond.”
Speaking on the collaboration, Archana Maini, General Counsel & Company Secretary at Campus Activewear, a leading sportswear brand and first strategic partner for the initiative, said, “We are proud to partner with Sportz Village on PathwayZ36. Our shared vision is to provide opportunities for talented athletes at grassroots level to progress to elite level. This partnership is a significant step towards not just building a healthier, sport-loving generation, but also making India a sporting powerhouse.”
Under PathwayZ36, Sportz Village will identify top talent within grassroots outreach and laterally across the country, leveraging its network with schools, academies and sports associations. Subsequently, selected athletes will undergo highest quality of training at high-performance centres, that includes skill and fitness training, nutrition, tournament exposures and sports science interventions. As on date, a first cohort of 20 student-athletes has already been selected as part of this initiative.
