Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research wins Sportstar Aces 2020 Best University for the Promotion of Sports

The Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) won the Best University for the Promotion of Sports award at the Sportstar Aces Awards on Monday.

SRIHER had a total fund allocation of ₹14 crores for sports in 2019. Fifty-two students were sponsored under the university’s sports quota.

The Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) won the Best University for the Promotion of Sports award at the Sportstar Aces Awards. SRIHER had a total fund allocation of ₹14 crores for sports in 2019 and 52 students were sponsored under the university’s sports quota.

Dr. Arumugam, senior director and head of department, Centre for Sports Science, of the institution, feels India must consistently win medals at the international stage to be regarded as a superpower in sports.

“We [India] haven’t justified our medal tally to the population. In the last Olympics, India’s rowing team was leading by a big margin at one point in the qualifier heats, but in the last 2km they floundered. You have to phase your training and that’s where science comes in.”

Arumugam is eager to have the sports community in the country to make the most of SRIHER’s state-of-the-art Centre for Sports Science (CSS), which is India’s first and the only centre of excellence as accredited by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), among others.

“I hope this award brings awareness to our centre. Science is a significant factor in the determination of how you perform in the field of sports,” said Arumugam.

“Our federations are happy to spend so much money to send athletes abroad to train. Our Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju was here to inaugurate our hockey turf and he, too, understands the importance of sports science. He wants more athletes to come here and train but the sports federations should realise that,” he added.

In 2019, SRIHER-based athletes won 60 international and 140 national medals. Reflecting on the university’s success in 2019, Arumugam said, “Elavenil Valarivan won gold medal in the ISSF shooting World Cup, our rowing team has won the junior Asian silver medal, Bhavani Devi won the silver medal at the Tournoi Satellite Fencing competition, among others.

“Our aim is to produce Olympic medals and champions,” he added.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, chess ace Vishwanathan Anand, The Hindu Publishing Group chairman N. Ram, former India hockey captain M. M. Somaya, Olympian shooter Anjali Bhagwat and Olympian shuttler Aparna Popat selected the deserving winners in categories involving young athletes, teams, coaches and parathletes.

The awards look to create a medium of knowledge and vision exchange as it brings all stakeholders of Indian sports under one roof.