CHENNAI: Tamil Thalaivas announced Monday trials for the country’s first private residential academy dedicated to the sport of kabaddi. The academy, a partnership between the Pro Kabaddi franchise and Jeppiaar Educational Trust, will commence its first batch starting July.
The academy, to be located in Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai, will be home to 80 of the most promising kabaddi talent from across the region. The athletes will be provided with free training by the Tamil Thalaivas coaching staff. Indian kabaddi coaching legend Kasinatha Baskaran is the technical director of the program and will oversee the training along with his team in Year 1.
Admissions to the academy will be based solely on merit, and as identified by the Tamil Thalaivas coaching staff. The academy management has identified over 1,500 potential candidates through a scouting hunt, that commenced in the last week of May. The selection will culminate in an open trial session, to be held from June 8th to June 10th at the Jeppiaar Engineering College, Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Chennai. Additionally, candidates who are unable to attend the local scouting sessions, can attend the open trial and apply to be one of the 80 inductees of this program.
Enrolled boys and girls, in the age group of Under-17, Under-19 and Under-25, will receive free education, housing and guidance on their health and fitness by a dietician-specified nutrition plan during the program. They will have full access to a state-of-the-art gymnasium and kabaddi mat practice halls at the campus.
Through the fully-residential academy, the students will have access to a free-of-cost, state defined educational qualification with an option to pursue any academic discipline of their choice as per their eligibility.
Talking about the vision behind the first ever Kabaddi Residential Academy, Viren D’Silva, CEO, Tamil Thalaivas shared: “The biggest motivation for us to start a residential academy is the enormous untapped Kabaddi talent in the country which is seeking guidance and know-how to pursue the sport as a career. At Tamil Thalaivas, we are committed to the development of the sport at all levels and will be providing every talented child the opportunity to learn and eventually become a professional Kabaddi player through this academy. The students at the academy will form part of our youth teams with the prospect of being a part of the Pro Kabaddi League and hopefully, in the future, the Indian Kabaddi Team. We thank the Jeppiar Educational Trust for partnering with us on this unique initiative.”
Jeppiaar Educational Trust chairperson Dr M Regeena Jeppiaar added: “We are glad to have partnered with Tamil Thalaivas to promote the development of a sport like Kabaddi, which finds its roots in the state of Tamil Nadu. Kabaddi has a very large historical significance with the state and in order to empower young Kabaddi talent, this is a vison we are very proud to be associated with. We look forward to housing India’s best Kabaddi talent at our premises and be a part of this developmental project.”
