National Sports Day: Vedanta Aluminium organises events bolstering sporting culture across operations
By Dr. Ramachandra Behera
Bhubaneswar/Lanjigarh: On National Sports Day, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, organised several sporting events across its operations like ‘Cyclothon’and indoor games tournament, furthering its commitment to enhancing grassroots sporting culture by engaging local youth and employees.
Acknowledging the fundamental contribution of sports to holistic youth development, the company is further bolstering the ecosystem and training infrastructurefor young enthusiasts propelling them to achieve national recognition, particularly in disciplines such as archery, hockey, and karate.
On the occasion, the company organised several sporting events for its employees and community members across its operations in Odisha at its world-class alumina refinery at Lanjigarh and its mega aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda.
A spirited ‘Cyclothon’ was organised in association with Marwari Yuva Manch in Jharsuguda which was inaugurated by Ms. Dipali Das, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Jharsuguda and Mr. Sunil Kumar Satya, CEO – Power, Vedanta Limited – Aluminium Business where hundreds of community members cycled to promote the benefits of leading an active life.
Fostering grassroots sports is also an integral part of the culture at Vedanta Aluminium, and the company has created vibrant sports committees at each of its operations for employee and community engagement. The Sports Committee at Lanjigarh refinery organised an indoor games tournament for employees, ‘Spardha-2023’ where they demonstrated their skills at games like chess, table tennis and carrom. The company’s mines vertical will also be conducting inter-school sports competition in the Sundargarh district.
Vedanta Aluminium’s vision of building a sustainable ecosystem of high-performance sporting culture is reaping impactful results on the ground. The company is nurturing local hockey talent in Jharsugudaand has organisedseveral tournaments like the District Hockey Championship and a friendly hockey tournament ahead of the recently concluded Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup 2023. Furthermore, the company also sponsored the construction of the new administration building of the Jharsuguda District Athletics Association.
In Lanjigarh, the companysupports grassroots sports by providing quality equipment and training by expert coaches for youths from local communities to compete on the state and national levels. Currently, the company supports the training of over 40 students in archery and 60 students in karate at the SSD High School, Lanjigarh. In 2022, the students from the program participated in 75 state-level and 15 national-level competitions, bagging over 35 medals across various tournaments.
On the occasion, Mr. Sunil Gupta, COO, Vedanta Ltd. – Aluminium Business said, “At Vedanta Aluminium, we believe that the transformative power of sports does not just shape the careers of our youth but their lives as well. Odisha has a remarkable record of giving the country some of India’s top football and hockey players. Strengthening the same legacy, we are empowering local youth by building a sports infrastructure and fostering a culture of excellence that resonates far beyond the playing field. It is heartening to see them excel in their respective sports and become a source of inspiration for many.”
