Padmanabh Sports - Leading a sporting revolution in Gujarat

While there is no denying of the fact that Indian sports have undergone a radical change in the recent past with the numerous franchise-based leagues going around, a closer look at this current situation shows you that if there’s one particular state which has been a mere spectator to this revolution, it’s the state of Gujarat. More notably, apart from the Gujarat Lions franchise in the IPL and the Gujarat Fortunegiants in the PKL, the new financial capital of the country have not ventured into sports at all. Moreover, both the above-mentioned franchises are private sector franchises which also means that so far there has not been a single public sector franchise which has dared to venture into sports.

Further, given that the Padmanabh Group is already an established player in the real estate industry, they now plan to use their expertise and their own land to build sporting academies in Gujarat and are already in talks of with the likes of Pullela Gopichand to open academies in Gujarat. 

Motive behind the venturing into sports

While it’s easy to see the company’s long-term vision for sports in the country, the more fundamental and intriguing question that remains is why such an established real estate company decided to venture into sports at this point in time. And the answer is a  fairly simple one. One on hand, like most other Indians the owners of the Padmanabh Group have grown up watching cricket, which further explains their inclination towards sports. On the other hand, the fact that no public sector company has dared to venture into sports so far means that they have practically no competition in this field at the moment. Moreover, given the huge success of private leagues over the last ten years, starting with the IPL, the Padmanabh group is hoping to emulate the success and popularity of the same. Having said that, it must also be clarified that business is not their only motive this venture, given the owners of the company have grown up with sports and this is a virgin territory for a public limited company, this venture can be seen as a perfect example of one’s passion and profession coming together. 

The primary objective behind this venture is to ensure more Olympic medals for the country going forward. And given that India is undergoing a sporting revolution lately, the timing of the initiative could not be better. On the other hand, so far, all the success that India have managed at the Olympic level has come without athletes necessarily having the best of facilities at their disposal and the Padmanabh Group plans to rectify this in times to come as they plan on bringing state of the art sporting infrastructure to the country in order to enhance India’s chances of an Olympic medal. However, at the most fundamental level, the company aims to provide the youngsters with some of the best sporting facilities so that they can benefit from the expertise of some of the best in the business. 

Bridging a gap for the greater good of sports

Master plan for achieving their sporting goals

With regard to how the Padmanabh Group plans to achieve their sporting goals, they plan to establish state of the art private academies in the country and they also admit to being in talks with a few international agencies for the same. And given that no private firm has ventured into this field so far, the sky is well and truly the limit for the Padmanabh Group with regard to the sporting sector in the country. However, given that the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, even the Padmanabh Group have set the ball rolling in a relatively small manner. For now, the company is focusing on only three sports i.e. badminton, volleyball, and cue sports. As far as the reason behind picking these three sports are concerned, Mr. Shah is self-admittedly a fan of cue sports and therefore couldn’t resist the opportunity to invest in the game. On the other hand, it’s the selection of volleyball that may come as a surprise to some, but given the popularity of the sport in Gujarat, the company wanted to help take the sport to the next level by making professional guidance and facilities available to the localities. Moreover, the company has also unofficially signed up with a volleyball league as part to further enhance the popularity of the sport even further in the state of Gujarat. And finally, the reason why the Group picked badminton was to cash in on the reputation of the second most popular sport in the country and also the fact that they sought a success story for themselves so that they could then focus on the other sports at hand. Further, it is with this thinking that the Padmanabh Group had tied up with the Premier Badminton League earlier this year. 

While there is no denying that the aim of this initiative is to help India win more Olympic medals, in the greater scheme of things, the Padmanabh Group, through this initiative plans to introduce sports to children at a young age, so that sports can become a way of life for them. And it is with this very motive that the company has tied up with Sandeep Pradhan, Director General of sports in Gujarat and also a few other foundations who are involved in inter-school and inter-college tournaments for football, volleyball, and badminton. Through their tie-ups, the Padmanabh Group aims to promote sports among children by providing schools across Gujarat with sporting equipment, financial support, and coaching infrastructure.

Charity starts at home

To sum it all up, it must be said that although Gujarat have been a sleeping giant terms of sports, so far, the Padmanabh group is all set to ensure that Gujarat not only awakens but also makes up for the lost time.