Bharat Petroleum: Energizing Indian Sports
Sports is among the finest expressions of the human spirit – the desire and determination to excel, compete and win against the most formidable challengers.
India has produced some of the brightest sport stars that have won laurels for the nation and added glorious chapters to the annals of sports history. Notably, many of these super achievers have come from humble backgrounds, hailing from the nation’s hinterland and initiated into their sport domain without special privileges or high-profile training in their early years. The famed arena of sports provides them to transcend their socio-economic perimeter and leap to a much higher orbit in life. Bharat Petroleum nurtures this latent treasure, reinforcing their resolve to reach the pinnacle of success.
Bharat Petroleum has a rich history of supporting budding sports talents in their journey marked by high ambition and the determination required to achieve it. Indeed, the corporation has inducted about 200 sportspersons in various sporting disciplines in the last several decades, supporting and encouraging them, while acting as a springboard for their aspirations.
Since 1987, Bharat Petroleum began inducting players who excelled at the state and national level, with an objective of seeing them excel at the PSPB (Petroleum Sports Promotion Board) inter-unit tournaments. Around 1996, the exciting initiative was expanded to recruit players who could excel not only at PSPB level but also at the national and international levels, to invigorate them to take up higher goals. No wonder, it has been a fantastic voyage for our sportspersons and us as we aim for greater glory for the nation.
Today, we are proud to have been associated with a galaxy of priceless gems who have dazzled the world with their stunning achievements. viz. Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt in Badminton, Soumyajit Ghosh, Sanil Shetty and Poulomi Ghatak in Table Tennis, Atanu Das in Archery, Pragyan Ojha, Manish Pandey, Dhawal Kulkarni, Abhishek Nayar, Sanju Samson, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer etc. in Cricket, Tushar Khandker, Birendra Lakra, S. V. Sunil, Harmanpreet Singh, etc. in Hockey, Tom Joseph, Jerome Vinith in Volleyball. Rishank Devadiga & Vishal Mane in Kabaddi, P. Harikrishna, Vaibhav Suri, Abhijeet Gupta in Chess & Manan Chandra, Shahbaaz Adil Khan in Snooker.
Under the cultivating canopy of Bharat Petroleum, sport has evolved by leaps and bounds over the years, especially with respect to the recruitment process, facilitating international participation of our players, advanced training at home and abroad, and multi-pronged overall support. The objective is to identify, induct and nurture talent in the country in various sporting disciplines, to elevate their level of excellence, to accelerate their journey towards scaling new peaks in their victorious march, as well as to facilitate their smooth assimilation into the mainstream beyond their sporting careers.