Last Updated on September 5, 2024
The Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship empowers athletes by combining sports training with academic excellence. It supports their holistic growth, ensuring success both on and off the field.
What if one’s passion for sports could be combined with academic excellence? What if one could live his dream of becoming a professional athlete while equipping oneself with the wherewithal to understand strategy, management, and the competitive world of sports? These form the heart of questions about which there now seems to be an answer, following on the heels of the just-announced Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Program at the Institute of Sports Science & Technology.
A New Era in Holistic Sports Education
Success in sports is no longer merely a factor of physical prowess in today’s world. With the stakes increasingly higher and the stage going global, sportspeople need to be prepared to do well in their sport as much as in managing their careers with the skill and strategy they deploy in the field. Mindful of this, ISST pioneered an integrative approach in sports education-merging rigorous sports training with academic excellence.
A dream that the Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Program stands as witness to. By allowing deserving athletes the possibility to pursue both their sports training and academic studies, ISST secures the future of sports professionals, making them all-rounded, knowledgeable, and prepared for the many challenges they will have to face.
Why Holistic Education Matters for Athletes
A path to elite athleticism can be very arduous. Along with physical training, which requires extended hours of rehearsal, severe discipline, and a fixed mind for accomplishing improvement, are the challenges an athlete faces even off the track. How does an athlete do contract management, know how to deal with sponsorship opportunities, or even know how sports law works? Such areas will be equally vital in the career of any athlete.
This is where the Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Program makes the difference. By providing a range of classroom and distance education course scholarships, ISST is giving the athletes tools they can eventually use to shape up careers beyond their sport. From academics in sports management to event management, facility management, and strategic management, there are many options that the scholarship winner can seek. Empowering the Woman Athlete
The highlighting aspect of the Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Program is the fact that it insists on women athletes. India has always been rising in the global sports platform, but often women athletes suffer due to issues starting from not getting proper training facilities to societal expectations and biases that beat down women for making a career in sports.
Also Read This: Stars and Wildlife Unite: A New Era of Conservation at Vantara
Scholarship List
- Adityaraj Sarma: Three medals for India in squat, bench press, and deadlift at the Drug Tested World Championships 2021 (AWPC).
- Sanchita Nagarkar: National Level Champion, All India Tennis Association series.
- Ankita Salokhe: Rank 4 Open National, sub-youth.
- Apoorva Mahesh Patil: First place, Gold medal at the Commonwealth Championship.
- Shravani Kulkarni: First – 1 Gold, Third – 3 Silvers and 3 Bronze at the National level IRSF competition.
- Sai Khond: Won Bronze Medal in Rhythmic Gymnastics, International Emirates Cup.
- Aditya Suriyanarayanan: Won 1 Silver and 1 Bronze in Couple Dance Skating and Solo Free Dance Skating in 19th Asian Roller-Skating Championship.
Ms. Tanvi Lunawat, Director – Operations at ISST, identified the need of the hour: “While India continues to rise in the global sports arena, it is our duty to support athletes, and more importantly, deserving women athletes, in whatever possible way. Women athletes face unique challenges, and our scholarship program empowers them by connecting the gap between sports training and academic education.”
In fact, the scholarships provided by the ISST will go a long way in addressing the specific needs the women athletes have, and not only will their physical growth as athletes be adequately supported, but knowledge and skills will also be imparted related to all spheres of life. This all-inclusive approach makes sure women athletes remain as leaders and not just participants in sports, with confidence and excellence representing India on the world stage.
A Legacy of Excellence in Sports Education
Since its inception in 2008, ISST has been at the helm of sports and fitness education in India. As the first dedicated sports and fitness education institute in the country, ISST has a long-standing commitment to developing athletes, managers, and sports support staff who are equipped to meet the demands of the modern sports industry.
Also Read This: Experience Saudi Arabia: A Journey Through the Heart of Arabia
The institute presently offers various courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels: MBA in Sports Management, Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management, and full-time UGC-recognized BSc in Sports Management. This course will explain all aspects of the sports industry, including but not limited to event management, facility management, sports law and governance, athlete management, sports tourism, and strategic management.
This broad-based curriculum reflects the philosophy of ISST that sports education cannot be left to the physical dimension of training alone but needs to incorporate all forms of skills and knowledge that one needs in a career related to sport-whether that career is on the field, in the boardroom, or behind the scenes.
A Future-Forward Approach to Sports
Launching the Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Programme has been a natural extension of ISST’s endeavour to impart world-class sports education. To quote Dr. Vipul Lunawat, Director of ISST, “With Khelo India and the various government schemes to develop the sportspersons, the onus is upon us as academics and sports lovers to be a part of their grooming. The Dr. P.C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Programme is our way of committing to the cause of making sure that sportspersons are not only physically capable of taking on the world but also educationally equipped.”
Thus, ISST grants a scholarship that encompasses both athletic training as well as academic education to create a new generation of athletes who are physically talented yet strategically oriented; hence, more capable of dealing with the complications of the sports industry-whether managing their own careers or, indeed, leadership positions within sports organizations.
Also Read This: Empowering Girls: Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2024-25
The Future of Aspiring Athletes
The ideal opportunity for such athletes is the Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Program, which furthers their chances of reaching these heights. ISST is thus playing a vital role in paving the way for the future of athletes as professionals, not just competitors, who shall compete at all levels in life.
The growing global sports industry will further increase its demand for an adequately qualified and knowledgeable profession. ISST treats sports as a whole, and its graduates will be adequately prepared to respond to the increasing demand, from on-field management to boardroom management.
Applications for the Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar Athlete Scholarship Program should be made online through ISST’s official website. This scholarship could lead to and open a door toward achieving excellence not only as an athlete but also as a leader in the world of sports.