New Delhi, February 14 – The IPL 2022 champions, Gujarat Titans, concluded the third edition of its Junior Titans program in Ahmedabad on Saturday, with participation from over 5,100 children representing more than 100 government and private schools from five cities.
The initiative reached cities like Surendranagar, Morbi, Amreli, Anand, and Ahmedabad, with the aim of encouraging physical activity among children under 14 through non-competitive sessions and interactive games. Colonel Arvinder Singh, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Gujarat Titans, said that the program's success was measured not in numbers, but in its ability to motivate children to embrace sports.
"The success of any program lies in the eyes of the children who participate in this program. I can tell you, today we will conclude in a couple of hours, and we will finish with the last edition of the Junior Titans of the year. Some time ago, someone asked me, how do we measure success in this? This is not about measuring success.
"This is about motivating children and creating something for them where they can say, 'Yes, I participated in this. I want to play sports, not just necessarily cricket.' That is how we at Gujarat Titans look at it," Singh said.
He also said that the franchise's credibility helped attract participation, particularly in smaller cities where children had fewer opportunities to engage with professional sporting organizations.
"Being Gujarat Titans brings a lot of credibility, and that's why children listen to us and want to align with us. That's understandable, but by doing so, we are just trying to reach out to children and motivate them to play sports, and that's what we are doing," he added.
With the philosophy of 'Let's Sport Out!', and a focus on building confidence and teamwork through sports, Singh further stated that the franchise maintained identical standards of organizing the event across all cities, regardless of their size or infrastructure.
"From an organizational perspective, there is no difference in an event that is being conducted in, let's say, Vadodara, to what happens in, let's say, Morbi. There is no difference whatsoever. The event is organized exactly the same way as it would happen in a tier-one city, compared to a tier-three or tier-two city. There is no difference whatsoever, and we are very clear on that.
"The major difference comes in because in these tier-one cities, the children get an opportunity to learn more about certain things, compared to the smaller cities. This is because in the smaller cities, children don't expect an IPL franchise to be around there. They are creating something specifically for students from that city, without any ulterior motives," he added.
He concluded by saying that the response in smaller cities was particularly encouraging, as children there had less access to quality sporting facilities compared to their counterparts in larger urban centres.
"So it is very, very heartening to see, especially in the smaller cities. In the bigger cities, because of the infrastructure and the facilities available, you still have children who have access to better facilities. In these smaller cities, that's not the case.
"When we go and do exactly the same event, what is happening today in Ahmedabad was happening last week in Anand, exactly the same, no difference whatsoever, and that's how we look at it."
