Jul 16, 2015
Joins hands with Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academies to promote tennis in schools
New Delhi, July 16, 2015: HCL today announced its partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academies (MBTA) to promote tennis among school children and identify and nurture new talent. On the occasion, HCL and MBTA also announced the “Inter School Tennis Challenge” – a large-scale school-level tennis tournament to be held from July 27 – August 2, 2015 in the National Capital Region.
The tournament aims to reach all schools in Delhi and the National Capital Region to inspire aspiring tennis players to focus on developing their game. The tournament is divided into two categories – Team Championship (for U/15 boys and girls) and Individual Championship (for U/17 boys and girls). Each school will send a maximum of 5 participants per team. The tournament will be held at DLTA Tennis Courts, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi. Based on the experience of this maiden initiative, HCL and MBTA plan to take this event to other cities across India.
Mahesh Bhupathi, 12-time Grand Slam Champion and Managing Director at MBTA said, “There is a tremendous scope for developing sports in India, and tennis of course, has always been close to my heart. With MBTA and HCL joining hands, we hope to identify and help nurture young talent who genuinely love the sport. India is now making its mark at the international level and we want to create many more sporting icons, who would make our country proud.
Speaking about the initiative, Sundar Mahalingam, Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Corporation said “Sports open multiple doors and encourage countless dreams for the youth. This resonates very closely with our core philosophy and brand intent of „touching lives‟. With the rising popularity of tennis among the youth, we are pleased to be associated with the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academies and help promote the sport among talented youngsters, some of who could go on to become India‟s leading sports personalities in the future”.
Speaking on the occasion, Gaurav Natekar, CEO, MBTA said, “We want to create a solid home ground for young tennis aspirants. India has always had the talent in tennis but it has not been harnessed effectively with the key issue being funding for the players. With the AITA and Sports Ministry already doing a fair bit for tennis, we hope that this initiative by HCL and MBTA will further strengthen the quality of junior players that are churned out for India. “
Sports365 is the equipment partner for the tournament.
Last year, HCL partnered with Subroto Cup, the biggest inter-school football tournament, to champion grassroots level football. HCL is also the official title sponsor of the World Bridge Championship 2015 being hosted in India in September 2015.
About HCL
Founded in 1976 as one of India’s original IT garage start-ups, today the HCL Group has expanded to four companies in India – HCL Infosystems, HCL Technologies, HCL Healthcare and HCL TalentCare. The group generates annual revenues of over US$ 6.5 billion with more than 105,000 employees from 100 nationalities operating across 31 countries, including over 500 points of presence in India. A pioneer of modern computing, HCL has many firsts to its credit including the introduction of the 8-bit microprocessor-based computer in 1978 well before its global peers.
HCL’s technology solutions cover the entire gamut of services that include infrastructure management, application development, BPO and technology distribution. A new entrant in healthcare, HCL Healthcare in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine International aims to provide innovative medical services, products and training to meet the growing demand for quality healthcare in India. HCL TalentCare is envisioned as an integrated talent solutions company addressing the entire spectrum of employability needs in India. For further information, visit www.hcl.com
About MBTA
It was in 2006 that Mahesh Bhupathi’s vision became a reality. MBTA was founded by the 12-time Grand Slam winner with the objective of imparting professional, world-class training (both practical and theoretical) and highly specialized coaching to youngsters of all age-groups. Another objective of the MBTA was to increase the accessibility of tennis by ensuring that people across all socio-economic groups have the opportunity to experience the joy of tennis. Mr. Gaurav Natekar, former India No. 1, Arjuna Awardee and double Asian Games gold medalist is the CEO and the driving force behind MBTA.
MBTA is a pioneering effort to promote the game of tennis across different levels. By launching our ‘School Tennis Program’ in various schools across India, MBTA has established itself as a force that adopts a systematic and well-planned approach at every stage in the process of tennis coaching. It is customized to the capabilities and needs of each participant and leads to a comprehensive and highly effective graduation process.
The academy also provides consultancy services to various schools, colleges and corporate companies to structure, develop and implement a variety of tennis coaching programs based on their needs. For more information, log on to: http://www.mbtaworld.com/