Sports Infotoday - Page 6 of 6

Shahib Somwarpet Ameer: The next big name in the World of Mini Football

October 18, 2022

Shahib Somwarpet Amir son of Ameer Konnur Bashir Shab, runs a dry fruit shop and represented India as a Vice Captain in Socca World Cup 2022, held in Hungry, Budapest. Shahib hails from Karnataka and is 27 years old. Born in Kodagu, Bangalore, Shahib comes from a middle-class family. His father is a small businessman and his mother, Noorjan Somwarpet Ameer is a homemaker. Shahib has one brother and two sisters. Shahib is 5.4 ft tall. Shahib started his football career with Kodagu League and is currently playing for ADE football club super division at Karnataka state football association.

Shahib completed his D-license coaching license in the year of 2018 from the all-India football federation and has played several matches so far and has been popularly named Goal Machine. Some of his list of matches include the Karnataka state team in the 49th junior national championship Dr.B.C.Roy Trophy as a defender and secured one score. Played for Pre-University State-Level Football Tournament in Belgaum as an attacking midfielder and secured 8 scores. Played State Level Under 17 Football Championship at Bijapur as a captain. Represented Mangalore University Football team at the University of Calicut and Kerala as a Midfielder. Represented Bangalore University football team at Pondicherry. Played Karnataka state PYKKA football championship held at Tumkur ( Karnataka ) in 2010 as a vice-captain. Represented Karnataka state football team in all India Sub Junior Football Championship as a captain at Chandigarh. Played for the postal department football club at A division in the year at Karnataka state football association as a Striker. Played for the postal department football club at A division in the year 2019 and 2020 at Karnataka state football association. Represented the super division team Madaam FC at Gujarat State Football Association as a midfielder. Represented India at an Indo-Nepal international friendly match under Indian Sports Federation in the year 2021 as a captain. Represented KV Sports India at SIAM FC International Week Trails and International Tournament Football Championship in Bangkok ( Thailand ) as a captain.

Talking about his recent tour in Budapest Shahib says, “Football is not just a sport it is like emotion for me. I feel blessed that I could participate in Socca World Cup 2022. I will be forever thankful to Mr. Kartik Vashist, who guided me to fulfill my dreams. I dedicate my achievements to my family and God. Having said that, I worked hard to reach where I am today and would continue to do so. I wish to stay fit for a longer period and play for India. This year my focus will be to play ISL as it would be helpful for young players like us to achieve our goals”

Shahib’s message for all the young talent trying their luck in football is to stay fit, work hard and above all believe in god, respect your parents, and keep patients. Shahib is a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo.

https://www.instagram.com/shahib_07/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Sports

Kartik Vashist: The Footballer From Haryana Who Has Made India Shine Globally

October 4, 2022

When Kartik Vashist was eight years old, he discovered football and instantly fell in love with the game. Born in Madhuban police complex, Karnal, a small city in Haryana, the lives of Kartik and his family were mired in several hardships. Kartik, who never had an inclination towards academics, would practice the various moves of football for several hours at a stretch. While his family encouraged him to pursue the sport, he couldn’t afford a pair of shoes for the longest time because of the financial difficulties at home. Such was his passion for the sport that he started playing football barefoot. Even injuries wouldn’t be able to keep him away from the ground for a long time.

Today, Kartik is one of the most renowned footballers not just in India but globally. As a footballer, he has represented India on several international platforms. Apart from participating in the prestigious Continental Football League Russia in 2018, Kartik has been a part of several national and international tournaments including Coca Cola Cup, Hero Santosh trophy, IFA7 World Cup Guatemala, and Sam Soccer International Cup Indonesia.

Talking about his journey as a sportsperson, Kartik says, “My journey was filled with several challenges but my love for football helped me to keep moving forward before giving up at any point of time. As a child, I had to deal with the issue of lack of resources but at the same time, I feel lucky to have got the kind of opportunities that helped me prove my mettle as a footballer. I have been extremely blessed to have parents who supported my dreams and instilled in me the kind of values that helped me achieve my goals. Football gave me an identity and I shall be eternally grateful to it for the same.”

Apart from being a footballer of international repute, Kartik has also built an identity as one of the best mini-footballers around. He is one of those young sportspersons who have played an important role in making this sport popular in the country. Because of his contributions and constant endeavours towards creating greater awareness around mini-football, Kartik was made the general secretary of the Haryana Mini-Football Association.

“Since 2017, I have been playing football and mini-football almost in a parallel manner. While youngsters in our country are steadily discovering the various aspects of mini-football, I feel there is a lot that one can do to make it further popular. At Haryana Mini-Football Association, we are sincerely working towards it. Ever since I started playing football, one of my goals has been to raise awareness around the importance of taking up some form of sports in one’s life. In the near future. I will be spearheading some initiatives to realize this dream in a bigger way”, he says.

Kartik describes football as an extension of who he is and states that it was a sport that gave him a purpose and direction in life. Recently, he led the Socca India Team at the Socca World Cup as a captain. A famous quote by the American football coach Vince Lombardi states, “Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.” Kartik’s life and his journey as a footballer is truly a glaring example of this.

https://instagram.com/kartikvashistofficial?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://www.facebook.com/KartikVashistProfile

Sports

SportsKingdom International raises an undisclosed amount for its software business

September 8, 2022

Singapore-based SportsKingdom International Pte. Ltd. onboarded their latest investor in July 2022. SportsKingdom raised an undisclosed amount, and the funds will be used to scale the product-tech and increase the digital footprint.

SportsKingdom International Pte. Ltd. was started in 2017, with the objective of creating a global sports ecosystem led by a team of international sports experts backed by an experienced team of IT professionals. SportsKingdom builds digital products to inspire athletes across the globe and is in the process of building a global sports hub that benefits sports aficionados across the spectrum. The software arm provides solutions that support and reinforce sports businesses globally.

SportKingdom’s vision is to build the world’s biggest ecosystem (physical and online) for sports, coaching, services, and products.

Upon completing the fund-raise, Chetan Suryawanshi (CEO and Co-founder) said,

“We are so proud to have SportsKingdom recognised and valued by strategic investors. The current investment will help us focus on building and widening our product range as we create the best-in-class ecosystem for sports, coaching, services, and products.”

SportsKingdom International welcomes Avijit Agarwal to Board of Advisors

SportsKingdom is privileged to welcome Mr. Avijit Agarwal to their Board of Advisors.

Avijit will be part of the core management team to evolve appropriate metrics to measure and manage growth and success. He will also guide the group company and subsidiaries in complying with the respective country’s laws and regulations.

Avijit has over 30 years of experience in financial markets, where he held a variety of trading and management roles in global banks across major financial centres all over the world. He has a deep passion for sports in general, and cricket in particular. He is based in Singapore and has an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj, Mumbai.

Chetan Suryawanshi (CEO and Co-founder) said,

“We are extremely delighted to have Avijit on board and we look forward to working together with him. He brings a wealth of experience that will contribute to SportsKingdom’s growth and success.”

The core team of SportsKingdom:

Chetan Suryawanshi – CEO/Co-founder
Sesha Sayana Annam – CTO/Co-founder
Prashant Naik – Advisor (Strategy)
Venkatraman Sheshashayee – Advisor (People & Culture)
Parag Dahiwal – Advisor (Enterprise SAAS Growth)
Avijit Agarwal – Advisor (Finance and Corporate Governance)

SportsKingdom is headquartered in Singapore with regional headquarters in India and Japan. Subsidiary companies under the SportsKingdom umbrella are –

CricKingdom Cricket Academy by Rohit Sharma
FutbolKingdom (Football)
HappinessKingdom (Yoga & Fitness)
SportsKingdom Stores
SportsKingdom Software

Sports

14-Year Old Ana Varshney Is On Her Way To Become a Global Tennis Champion

February 15, 2022

A Champion Like No Other: 14-Year Old Ana Varshney Ranks 12 in the All India Tennis Association in Under-16

In Her Own League: Actress Anshu Varshney’s 14-Year Old Daughter Ana Varshney Ranks 12 in the All India Tennis Association

Those who identify their calling early in life and work tremendously hard towards achieving them never lose focus and achieve all that they wish to. 14-year-old Ana Varshney’s success story serves as a testimony to this. At the very young age of three, Ana’s father encouraged her to take up a sport. He started teaching her the ropes of tennis and in very little time, Ana picked up the nuances of this outdoor sport and became very good at it. Seeing her inherent talent in tennis, her parents enrolled her in a sports institute in Noida for professional training. To polish her skills further, Ana played in several other institutes including the Jassowal’s Harvest Tennis Academy in Punjab.

After winning several tournaments across India and setting many records, Ana has now been ranked 12 in the All India Tennis Association. This is a major achievement for a sportsperson, more so for somebody who is just 14 years of age.

Talking about this achievement, Ana says, “I feel humbled to be recognized by the All India Tennis Association and ranked so highly by them. When my efforts get validation, I feel further motivated to work hard and improve my skills. I am happy that I found my passion at the age of three and I hope I make my country proud with this sport.”

Ana’s success as a tennis player can be attributed to her disciplined lifestyle and focus on her sport. Unlike most teenagers, Ana keeps a distance from social media, television and junk food. She prefers being in the lap of nature and her diet comprises of milk, fruits and vegetables. After waking up early in the morning, she spends a good amount of time working out and then, gets ready for school. She manages to keep a fine balance between her studies and practice sessions and ensures that she gets to do everything that makes her happy.

Elaborating further on her journey as a professional tennis player, Ana says, “It’s been three years since I started playing tennis professionally. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of many memorable tournaments. I have played in the under-16 category and once I managed to secure a win against an opponent who was among the top 5 AITA rankers at that point of time. While wins make everybody happy, what I wish for is a match played well.”

One person who has contributed greatly to Ana’s success is her mother, Anshu Varshney. Apart from being a part of the entertainment industry for the last several years, Anshu is also a popular motivational speaker. She was crowned Mrs. India Runner Up in the year 2018 and has been a part of TV commercials for brands like Dabur, HDFC, Dettol, Cadbury, Everest and Philips among others. She has appeared in many popular TV shows like The Kapil Sharma Show and is widely remembered for her performances in digital shows like ALTBalaji’s ‘Mentalhood’.

On supporting her daughter towards achieving her goals, Anshu says, “In a lot of ways, I started a new journey as an actor and a motivational speaker in the second innings of my life. So, I know how important it is to support somebody’s dream who is passionate about it. I am extremely proud of Ana not just because she is my daughter but for all that she has managed to achieve as an individual. She inspires me every day with everything that she does. As a mother, what more could I have asked for!”.

“My mother has been a pillar of support for me. As a sportsperson, you go through many ups and downs in your career and you need emotional support at all times. Even when something goes wrong, my mother makes me realize there will be another day and many great opportunities will come. She is my biggest cheerleader and strongest support system”, Ana says.

Ana’s father Abhishek Varshney, who inspired her to take up sports at the age of three, says, “I have always believed that making sports a part of one’s life helps in building personality and confidence. Tennis was an integral part of my life, so I thought of introducing Ana to it. However, the way she picked it up left me amazed. She was born to be a sportsperson. As parents, we have tried to do our best for her but it’s her discipline and passion for tennis that has helped her reach where she is today.”

With the kind of achievements Ana has to her credit already, she clearly has a great and long career ahead of her as a tennis player. American sportsperson Serena Williams is her biggest inspiration and one wouldn’t be surprised if she manages to achieve more than what her idol has.