New Delhi: Indian Golf Union (IGU), the apex body for development and promotion of the game of Golf in India, recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, has tied-up with HVR Sports INC., a HVR Group company, that identifies, supports and promotes talent in Golf and other sport disciplines to help them convert their passion into sustainable profession.


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Under the ambit of this five year agreement, valid till March 31, 2021, HVR Sports shall manage 50 different IGU Tournaments in India on a turnkey basis. Major tournaments amidst these are Amateur Men Tour (including Amateur Golf Championship of India), Amateur Ladies Tour (including All India Ladies Golf Championship) and the Sub-Junior Tour.


HVR Sports shall also be responsible for managing all sponsorships pertaining to the IGU tournaments; training, preparation and participation for the national Golf squad in the forthcoming 2016 and 2020 Olympics; training of the support personnel including the green keepers, caddies, referees, officials etc. and the IGU Awards besides providing fiscal assistance and support to affiliate Golf clubs and state Golf associations. HVR Sports shall also have the rights for international events conducted by IGU in India that have participation from foreign teams (excluding Indian Open, Indian Classic and Indian Masters).


According to Mr. Harshavardhan Reddy, Chairman HVR Group, one of the leading educationalists in the country, “The objective is to promote Golf in India. This can be best done if we broad-base it and take it to the masses. Talent can be identified, supported and promoted such that they earn laurels for the country in the international circuit. This may not happen as long as it remains an elite sport. Imagine the potential when 200 Golf clubs under the aegis of IGU become accessible for all who have a passion for the sport.”


“We are a country of 1.3 billion people and yet we yearn for medals at Olympics. We support the philanthropic philosophy of Mr. Reddy wherein through this tie-up, we wish to take Golf to the grass root level, grow its popularity immensely and become a force to reckon with internationally. ‘Golf for All’ and ‘Gaon Mein Golf’ are two such programs that are aimed doing away with the ‘elite only’ tag. Together, we shall build the largest platform for golfers and Golf enthusiasts in the country,” said IGU Director General Wg Cdr Arun Kumar Singh (Retd.).


“What BCCI is to cricket, IGU is to Golf. It’s time to bring the undiscovered Indian talent to the forefront. We have taken up the challenge of reshaping, reorganizing and reintroducing Golf in India. We shall educate and empower more and more people to take up Golf, it shall no longer remain a rich man’s domain only. I foresee a lot more Indians playing Golf on the international circuit in the years to come. The youth of the country should look beyond Cricket which has been the only rewarding sport till now,” added Mr. Reddy while sharing his plans to make HVR Sports the largest conglomerate for organized sports in India.


HVR Sports shall identify, support and promote talent in association with different sports bodies including those of Olympic disciplines, non-Olympic disciplines, village & traditional sports and even martial art forms.