Hockey Promotion in Maharashtra’s Rural Areas
One of our first initiatives after our inception in October, 2007 was to spread the word of hockey in Western Maharashtra’s rural areas.
In 2008, Abhi Foundation appointed national level hockey player Digvijay Naik to help promote the sport in areas of Western Maharashtra which include Warana, Ichalkaranji, Sangvi and Kolhapur. Our foundation held camps, distributed hockey sticks and other requirements for the sport.
Through the camps, the children were given, for the first time, an international sense of training trough the use of ball machines, hurdle methods and more. The training camps came alive with demonstrations by coaches Mir Ranjan Negi and Helen Mary.
Our effort to promote the sport in Ahmednagar was covered by international news agencies.
Launch of Salaam Bombay Hockey Foundation
The opening ceremony of the Salaam Bombay Hockey Academy which took place in 2009, at the Brabourne Stadium, Churchgate, was attended by more than 10,000 people. The Salaam Bombay Hockey Academy consists of 120 girls from four municipal schools in Mumbai.
The Salaam Bombay Hockey Foundation is a partnership project between Abhi Foundation and Salaam Bombay Foundation. Both organisations share a common ground as they integrate sports with child welfare.
The Launch was attended by Bollywood composer Aadesh Shrivastav, Mr Mir Ranjan Negi’s fellow participants from the reality dance show Sa Re Ga Ma and the team of Chak De! India.