A five-time Olympian and a two-time Asian champion, Shiva Keshavan is a lone warrior fighting an almost impossible war. Without any support from the Government or corporates, he has managed to fund his campaigns at international tournaments for the last 20 years and has performed above all expectations.
At the age of just 16, he became the youngest person in history to qualify for luge at the Olympics and since then, he has remained our nation’s sole torch-bearer at the biggest sporting spectacle in the world and even denied the offer of Italian citizenship and the perks that come with it just so that he could represent India and help develop winter sports in the country.
With the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang on the horizon, Keshavan recently declared that he had no money left to be able to prepare for the Games and with the Government turning a blind eye, he has had to resort to looking for corporate partners who can help him fulfill his passion and bring glory to the tricolour.
In this hour of need, Micromax Informatics Ltd., one of the largest consumer electronics company in India have stepped up to the plate and will support Keshavan in his run-up to the next Olympics and beyond as part of their marketing campaign.
Shubhajit Sen, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, spoke about this partnership and the role Micromax will play in it.
He said, “We feel honored and privileged to have an athlete like Shiva Keshavan on board with us and to be a part of his incredible story. We have always been interested in sports and are always looking for opportunities to promote a sporting culture in the country.”
I am very happy with this partnership: Keshavan
Keshavan also expressed his delight at this collaboration and explained how it will help perform better and go for gold in 2018.
“I am extremely happy with this partnership and I am sure it will help in competing for top places and aim at breaking world records. Micromax is the first company in India to support me and I hope this will encourage other corporates as well to partner other upcoming athletes and help them win laurels for the nation,” said the Asian speed record holder.
This partnership will have three major aspects in terms of helping Keshavan directly. With its high-end informatics and technology network, Micromax will work with him to find ways to reduce his timings using state-of-the-art methods.
Thanks to their network of vendors, the company will help Keshavan get the best materials for his luge sled that will ensure optimum performance. Lastly, Micromax will promote the sport using its massive social media reach and help the man from Himachal garner further organizational support for his Olympic exploits.
Stating that he will have to make the most of what he has, Keshavan hopes to put this support to good use. His goals are not just limited to winning a medal, as he wants to promote winter sports in India and help youngsters get organizational support at an early stage.
Giving an example from his own experience, he stated that he had conducted a camp to promote luge and from there, ten youngsters were selected to form the Junior National Luge team to train in Japan. He said that the delegation had absolutely no support from anywhere and that he had to give his old gear to the children so that they could take part!
He also thanked Sportskeeda for the role they have played in sharing his story and helping him gain support.
He said, “I am grateful to the people at Sportskeeda for their help and I call them my unofficial media partners! They are doing a great job of helping promote sports that deserve attention and I hope they continue the work they are doing!”
