Hridey Sahgal, a class XII student of The International School Bangalore (TISB) — ranked among India’s Top 5 international day-cum-boarding schools in the EW India School Rankings 2016 — has been selected for the Ashoka Youth Ventures programme initiated last September by the US-based Ashoka Innovators for the Public (formerly Ashoka Foundation), for organising the TISB Swimathon. An innovative fund-raising event, the swimathon raises money for the Delhi-based Special Olympics (SO) Bharat (estb.1988), a national sports organisation with a million members, which develops cognitively challenged youth into prize-winning sportspersons, and is accredited by Special Olympics Inc, USA to conduct its sports training programmes in India. Ashoka Youth Venture mentors will guide Hridey on how to better organise the event in future.

Under the TISB Swimathon initiative, each TISB student participant is sponsored by parents and associates. The four-day swimming gala held in early March raised Rs.15.43 lakh for SO Bharat, which intends to utilise these funds to upgrade its members’ swimming skills to global standards, and to organise sporting events countrywide for intellectually-challenged athletes.

“I hope the Swimathon will become an annual event and will continue to raise funds for SO Bharat,” says Hridey, the elder of two sons of Ravi Sahgal, executive vice president at Kurlon Enterprise Ltd, and Namita Sahgal, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Columbia Asia Hospital, Bangalore.

Looking ahead, this 17-year-old plans to study mechanical engineering abroad after acquiring his IB diploma next year. “Currently, I am focusing on building the momentum for a global swimathon with SO Bharat’s assistance,” he enthuses.

Way to go, bro!

Sujata Choudhury (Bangalore)