NEW DELHI: Strengthening its contribution towards sports in India, HCL, a leading global conglomerate, Tuesday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), a not-for-profit foundation with a mission to support Indian athletes at the Olympics.
With this partnership, HCL has committed Rs60 million over the next five years to support the athletes in their quest for Olympic medals. The partnership will help OGQ reinforce their mission to bring together eminent sportspersons, business leaders, sportswriters and talent to identify emerging athletes, understand their training requirements and support them.
As part of the partnership, Sundar Mahalingam, chief strategy officer, HCL Corporation and Shiv Nadar Foundation will also join OGQ as a board member.
OGQ CEO Viren Rasquinha noted, “Olympic Gold Quest has been set up with the aim to identify talented sportsmen and women who can go on to win Olympic gold medals. However, no organization can work towards such a massive goal alone and we are glad that organizations like HCL that are already investing in promoting sports in the country are coming forward to support us in our quest. It is our pleasure to associate with HCL and we are also happy to welcome Mr Sundar Mahalingam as a board member at OGQ.”
Speaking about the partnership, Mahalingam said, “We are pleased to be associated with Olympic Gold Quest. The vision for this association is not only to support the athletes in their quest for gold medals, but to inspire confidence in the entire nation and other budding athletes that talent will never go unsupported. I am confident that HCL’s association with OGQ will provide a perfect opportunity for the Indian sporting talent to emerge as strong contenders across various global sports platforms. Our efforts to support OGQ are in line with HCL’s core brand philosophy of touching people’s lives, as part of which we have been investing significantly in promoting and nurturing sports in the country.”
Founded by Indian sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone, OGQ is a not-for-profit entity committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and their counterparts across the world, thereby enabling Indian athletes to win Olympic Gold medals.
OGQ currently supports 130 athletes including 53 senior athletes across 8 individual sports viz. Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis and Wrestling. 5 out of the 8 Indian medallists in London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics were supported by OGQ.
