MUMBAI: JSW Sports, the sports arm of the diversified JSW Group conglomerate, Friday unveiled wrestler Bajrang Punia as the latest athlete to be supported by the company.
The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games Gold medallist will be supported by a dedicated team of experts to help prepare for upcoming competitions beginning with the World Championships in Budapest in October.
Apart from training exposure, Bajrang will also be supported by JSW Sports’ Athlete Management team, that will help him commercialise his success across the Indian market.
It bears noting that the athlete management unit was launched earlier this year but was only made official Friday as JSW Sports was building a team of commercial managers and sales team these past months. The unit’s roster of athletes are people who are already part of JSW Sports’ flagship Sports Excellence Program (SEP), who are now extending their contracts into being commercially managed as well.
Since its inception in 2012, the SEP has helped support over 50 elite Indian athletes in six Olympic disciplines. Under the SEP, athletes are offered career planning, training, and a mentorship module that includes medical, nutrition and psychological support; finance, equipment and logistical aid; international exposure and coaching clinics and a team of highly qualified support staff.
With the latest move, JSW Sports will also help a group of athletes manage their commercial activities, appearances and digital presence.
Commenting on the announcement, JSW Sports CEO Mustafa Ghouse said: “Olympic sports in India is at an inflection point, with greater viewer interest and a growing fan base. With the new breed of young athletes coming up and performing consistently well on the global stage, major brands are also standing up and taking notice. As such, it is important for us to professionalise the way these athletes are managed and that has always been our endeavour at JSW Sports.”
Bajrang joins a list of exciting young athletes managed by JSW Sports which includes CWG and Asian Games champion Neeraj Chopra, Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, former Junior World Champion Nikhat Zareen and the newest Long Jump national record holder M Sreeshankar.
Commenting on Bajrang’s return to JSW Sports (from Olympic Gold Quest), Ghouse said: “Having won both Commonwealth and Asian Games Golds this year, Bajrang is arguably India’s foremost male freestyle wrestler and we could not be happier to have him come back to the JSW Sports fold. We have a dedicated team of experts with him and are committed to ensure he stays fit and competition ready leading into the Tokyo Olympics. He will also be training at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), our high-performance centre in Vijayanagar, which would be a huge benefit for all young wrestlers training there.”
