Mr. Rajeev Mehta, secretary general, Indian Olympic Association, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, Indian Olympic Association, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Hon’ble Minster of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr. Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group and President FICCI and Mr. Anandeshwar Pandey, Treasurer, Indian Olympic Association.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday announced a new partnership with Edelweiss Financial Services Limited. As part of the deal, all the Indian athletes participating in the 2018 Commonwealth Games will get a Rs 50 lakh cover from Edelweiss, which will also serve as a sponsor of the Indian contingent for 2018 Commonwealth Games 2018, 2018 Asian Games and 2020 Olympic Games as well as National Games 2018 and 2019.

This isn’t the first time when the company has announced a cover of this kind. Earlier, it had provided a cover of Rs 1 crore for athletes representing India at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Apart from this, IOA also announced Raymond as its official styling partner and Shiv Naresh Sports as its official sports apparel partner for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Gold Coast from 4-15 April 2018.

The announcements were made at an event in New Delhi in the presence of international athletes including HS Prannoy (Badminton) Mehuli Ghosh (Shooting), Anuraj Singh (Shooting), Manpreet Singh (Captain, Indian Men’s Hockey Team), Rani Rampal (Captain, Indian Women Hockey Team), Rupinder Pal Singh (Hockey), Savita Punia (Hockey), Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics), Mohd Bobby (Gymnastics), Gaurav Kumar (Gymnastics) and Pranita Das (Gymnastics).

Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, Indian Olympic Association said that the Commonwealth Games will set the tone for the Asian Games and other Olympic Qualifiers. “It is instrumental to have private sectors come forward to promote Indian sports and I am sure this new partnership will be a boon for our elite athletes preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan,” he said, while adding that IOA is committed to creating a new era in Indian sports.

Meanwhile, Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group and President FICCI, said that more private sector players should come forward and support the Indian Olympic Association. “In order to be at part with our global peers, India needs a sports ecosystem, one which has both public and private partnerships across education, business, development, jobs, and more,” he said.