Asian Games 2023: JSW Group's Initiatives Key to Team India's Triumph

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India finished fourth overall in what was the country's most successful Asian Games campaign in Hangzhou, China, with an unparalleled haul of 107 medals. JSW Group-led activities were at the forefront of the list of elements that contributed to the historic campaign's success.

For more than a decade, the JSW Group has led a sporting movement in India through the JSW Foundation, JSW Sports, and the Inspire Institute of Sport, with a particular emphasis on assisting India's success at the Olympic Games.

Parth Jindal, Founder, JSW Sports and Inspire Institute of Sport, said of the JSW Group's holistic contribution to Indian sport and its subsequent impact on India's performance at the Asian Games, "It gives all of us at the JSW Group immense pride to have played a pivotal role in India's most successful Asian Games campaign yet." The JSW Group has been devoted to building India into a sporting superpower through its initiatives, and seeing the effort deliver repeated results in big-stage tournaments is a testament to the effort put in.

"For many years, the JSW Foundation has supported the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), and, most recently, the Government of Odisha's swimming programme." Our flagship high-performance centre, the Inspire Institute of Sport, has satellite locations in Himachal Pradesh, Hisar, Odisha, and Manipur. Some of the most powerful corporate names in India have joined our initiative. The part we played in India's achievement in Hangzhou has further fueled our determination to win in Paris next year."

The Indian shooters won a whopping 22 medals, while the boxers won five, four of which secured spots in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Meanwhile, India's swimming team broke six national records while competing in China. The relationship with the NRAI entails assisting the coaches while also collecting and analysing data. The Foundation's assistance with BFI includes organising and hosting national competitions, supporting foreign coaching personnel, and even providing the Federation with a Performance Director.

In Odisha, the JSW Foundation has launched a comprehensive aquatic culture programme in collaboration with the state government. The initiative is currently operational in 15 different centres, affecting approximately 5,000 youngsters, and the number is expected to double in the next five years. A team of highly experienced coaches is also involved in the programme, working to develop a pipeline of talent who will have an impact on high-performance swimming in the near future.

"India is a nation of aspiring athletes," says Ms. Sangita Jindal, Head of the JSW Foundation. There was a major gap in the training, development, and funding possibilities available to talented young people in India a decade ago. As a result, we established the Sports Excellence Program as a private CSR project to assist Indian Olympic athletes. Over the years, we have also developed a number of interventions across all of our direct impact zones to find and develop young rural sporting talent.

These sporting jewels are discovered at a young age, and our team assists in their development through a comprehensive programme. They are then transported to the Inspire Institute of Sport for additional training in preparation for international competitions. We are convinced that by focusing on world-class training infrastructure, coaching, and sports science, we will be able to develop a new generation of Olympic champions for India."

The Inspire Institute of Sport had 31 athletes on their roster represent Team India in China, with 17 returning with medals. (Four gold, eight silver, and five bronze). Gold medalists included Neeraj Chopra, Avinash Sable, Parul Chaudhary, and the Men's 4x400 relay team.

Rushdee Warley, CEO of Inspire Institute of Sport, commented on the program's success, saying, "This has been a wonderful Asian Games campaign for India, and there is so much inspiration to take from the performances." From the standpoint of IIS, seeing a growth in the number of our athletes who have competed and won medals from Jakarta in 2018 to Hangzhou in 2023 demonstrates how we are expanding as an organisation. Personal bests, season bests, and even an Asian Games record were set (Avinash Sable). The experience of competing against some of the continent's best athletes will serve our athletes well when it comes time for Paris 2024."

While spearheaded by the JSW Group, the IIS is also backed by almost 30 corporate India donors, including Citi India, IndusInd Bank, Kotak, Borosil, and Gameskraft Foundation. This is consistent with the IIS' objective of bringing together corporations to contribute to and lead India's march to Olympic success.

With the Olympics in Paris less than a year away, the focus is now on increasing India's medal total from Tokyo. Manisha Malhotra, Head of Sports Excellence and Scouting, JSW Sports, explained JSW's approach to promoting sport and assuring success, saying, "At JSW, we have extensively concentrated on looking at sports that not only have several medals on offer but also lack a widespread support system." We want to look to the future and nurture sports that are not widely known but are critical to moving India up the medal count."