Presented by Adani Sportsline, the championship aims at promoting homegrown sports in Gujarat

  • 3,000 school kids in the age group of 12-17 years participated from across 224 schools in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Ahmedabad districts
  • Kabaddi games were played in a new format shifting from mud to mat in accordance with the modern league structure

vivo Pro Kabaddi has been supportive of this initiative as it aims to develop and spread the sport at the grassroots level and unearth talent.

Ahmedabad, 28 August 2022: Adani Sportsline, the sports arm of the Adani Group, organised the maiden Little Giants Interschool Championship on 28 August 2022. Ahmedabad-based Jyoti School was declared the winner. They defeated Vadodara-based Urmi school 54-30. While Mohit Chauhan was announced as the Best Attacker, Kashyap Sujal was named as the Best Defender. Both represent the inaugural winners - Jyoti school.

The multi-district tournament began with city championships in Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, followed by the championship game between the winners from those cities. Over 3,000 young people from 224 schools across Gujarat participated in the tournament. Kabaddi matches were held at the interschool event, giving kids a chance to experience the games in their new avatar with mats, live commentary, and professional officials.

“The interschool competition was held on the lines of India's premier league, the Pro-Kabaddi League”, said Satyam Trivedi, Head- Adani Sportsline. “Adani Sportsline aims at inculcating a culture of sports at the grassroots level, and the Little Giants Championship is just a beginning to develop young minds at a young age. More games will be added in the future to strengthen the sports environment in the state.”

The final was held at Global International School in Ahmedabad, where all qualifying school teams from various districts competed for the championship trophy. The winners were felicitated by Ram Mehar Singh, Head Coach for Gujarat Giants Kabaddi team; Jaivir Sharma, Kabaddi Chief Coach, SAI Gandhinagar; and Rohit Parasher, former Coach, men’s Indian football team.

“We are really proud of our boys for demonstrating positive attitude on the mat,” said Coach Nikhilesh Purabiya, Jyoti School, Ahmedabad. “We are extremely thankful to the management of Adani Sportsline and the whole team at Gujarat Giants for arranging this fantastic Kabaddi Championship. Our school children are showing renewed interest for the game, which will only intensify given how the national professional leagues are developing.”

Adani Sportsline has also announced its support to school-cum-orphanage Vatsalaya Dham School in Surat that participated in the Kabaddi championship. Considering their passion and enthusiasm for the game, Adani Sportsline has decided to fund the game, including appointing a dedicated coach, and providing training equipment, technical support and mentoring.

About Adani Sportsline

Adani Sportsline is the sports arm of the diversified Adani Group. Formed in 2019, it has an overarching philosophy to inculcate a culture of sports at the grassroots level and create globally competitive opportunities for future champions in India through its incubation programme ‘Garv Hai’ and Pro Kabbadi League, Ultimate Kho Kho League and Big Bout Boxing League under its brand Gujarat Giants.

Since its formation, some of its stellar milestones include nine senior athletes qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2021, wrestlers Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia and boxer Amit Panghal winning 3 Gold Medals during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, Gujarat Giants’ boxing team clinching the maiden Boxing Big Bout League 2019, the kabbadi team finishing as runners-up in two consecutive Pro Kabbadi Leagues, and the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon moving up to be among the top four races in India. To engage and connect with cricket fans worldwide, Adani Sportsline has formed a cricket team, ‘Gulf Giants’, for the UAE’s International League T20’. The maiden season is expected to take place between January and February 2023.

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