Sehwag's show launches crowdfunding campaign

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS)   Former cricketer Virender Sehwag hosts  a TV series named  "Umeed India", is set to launch a crowdfunding campaign that aims to empower athletes.

When EPIC Channel launched "Umeed India", the aim was to bring into the limelight the extraordinary stories of 13 sportspersons who are training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

The show follows the lives of freestyle wrestler Sakshi Malik, swimmer Suyash Jadhav, shot put player O.P. Karhana, sprinter Dutee Chand, judo talent Avtar Singh and wrestler Vinesh Phogat, among others. 

In an attempt to go beyond just telling their stories, the channel aims to empower these champions through a crowdfunding initiative for which it has partnered with Impact Guru, a company that provides crowdfunding solutions to empower individuals, NGOs and social enterprises. 

"I hope through the show we can bring to light an athlete's daily struggles and the facilities they are offered and the dearth of it. While shooting, what I also noticed was that these athletes are given a diet stipend of Rs 600, which is appalling because they are training for Olympics and need much more support than what they are being offered," Sehwag said in a statement.

"'Umeed India' is an effort to bring fans, communities and even the corporate world together to empower the athletes and even help raise funds so that they can achieve their goals," he added. 

Sharing his views on the crowdfunding campaign, Akul Tripathi, Programming Head, EPIC Channel, said: "As a show, 'Umeed India' aims to bring to light the struggles and triumphs of our sportspersons. They are the pride of our country and it is unfortunate that, at times, some very basic necessities are not made available to them at the correct time. The crowdfunding campaign in association with Impact Guru.com is our attempt at connecting the people of the country directly with their sporting talent." 

Talking about how crowdfunding will help these athletes, Piyush Jain, Co-founder and Trustee of Impact Guru, said: "Crowdfunding is a powerful tool for change. If we, as a country of 1.3 billion people, stand with our athletes and support them, it will motivate them even more to bring home gold medals in the next Olympics."