Nike signs up 35 budding sportspersons

bangalore: will one of these indian juniors become a tiger woods or a pete sampras? nike, one of the the world's leading names in sports and fitness, is all set to invigorate indian sports through its commitment to grassroots level athletes in tennis, golf and squash. with this in mind it has signed up 35 budding sportspersons from six states to ready them for international level competition.nurturing athletic talent and providing inspiration to young dreamers is at the soul of all sports development initiatives at nike. speaking on the association, nike country manager, south asia, hemchandra javeri, said, "it is always an exciting time at nike when we spot a young athlete with an all-consuming passion for athletic achievement. these immensely talented athletes are a source of inspiration to us and we hope to take them beyond their personal best, setting personal benchmarks and raising the standards of the game in the process." the company announced the names of these 35 athletes who nike would be supporting in their endeavour to reach the top in their chosen sport. "leading to their selection as nike athletes, was an evaluation of past performances in the last one-year as well as a search for that unique spirit and single mindedness that creates champions. the roster consisting mainly of junior athletes reflects nike's endeavour of grooming budding talent into world champions and committing to the athlete's development when she or he needs it the most," javeri pointed out. there have been several athletes whom nike has nurtured over the years to reach world champion status. tiger woods is one such striking example. "he has been a nike athlete since the age of 16," said javeri. "when everybody was looking for the next michael jordan on the nba circuit, we found ours on the golf course," he adds. nike will provide the deserving athlete with performance gear, comprising apparel, footwear and equipment in the relevant category of sport. other entitlements include priority enrolment at the nike-bhupathi tennis village and at the nike dlf golf academy for training programmes and camps. "in india for the last four years, nike has centred its sports development initiatives around golf and tennis. apart from its support to promising athletes in the sport, it has taken its commitment a step further by its association with the dlf golf academy and the nike-bhupathi tennis village," javeri said. as support to grassroots level sports, nike has devised an athlete support programme that involves providing promising athletes the finest nike products that would help them take their game to another level, skill training at nike developed facilities and the opportunity to compete at international levels. during the year, on achieving excellence in the sport or on reaching the stated target, the athlete would be entitled to a bonus in cash terms, within the specified tier. said javeri, "we at nike are extending our support to players in the following tiers based on category, level or status in tennis and golf. l 1. seniors players, national-level players and professionals. l 2. seniors, under 18, national-level players and professionals. l 3. under 16, under 14, state-level players and amateurs. l 4. juniors, school/college-level players, amateurs." said javeri, "as part of our commitment to the development of the sport, nike sponsored the indian women's national team to malaysia, for the asia pacific invitational golf tournament in march 2001. again, the indian juniors team for the rolex challenge juniors' trophy at singapore in june 2001, were all products of the nike - dlf academy and were sponsored by nike."