Sports India

Tata Group’s pioneering effort towards nurturing Indian sporting excellence found expression in a book titled `To Strive and To Soar’. Sunil Gavaskar, cricket legend, and Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula One driver, released the book, which is in the form of a visual anthology, at a function here on Monday.

Tata Group’s sporting achievers, almost the who’s who of Indian sport, were in attendance.

Gavaskar spoke about Tata Group’s support to exceptional talent, leaving the sportpersons free to focus on the quest for excellence. Narain talked about the importance of timely backing from the Tata Group as an integral part of his foray into Formula One.

Milind Rege introduced the legacy of champions spanning different generations. The book, by Devina Dutt, chronicles the thrust to supporting and encouraging champions of tomorrow in pictorial form, inspired by the group founder Sir Jamshedji Tata.

The Tata Group’s employees list includes one Padma Bhushan awardee, 11 Padma Shris, three Dronacharyas, 41 Arjuna awardees and six world championship winners. Athletes Eddie Sequeira, Adille Sumariwalla, judoka Cawas Billimoria, cueists Geet Sethi and Michael Ferreira, cricketers Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly, mountainer Bachendri Pal, hockey stalwarts Leo Pinto, R.S. Gentle, `Mr. Universe’ Premchand Dogra and footballer Olympian S.S. Narayan are a few distinguished names.