Taking sports to schools and chasing a target which might look beyond the realms of imagination!

Government School children getting a feel of some sports disciplines thanks to the initiative of the Sports Coaching Foundation (Masab Tank) in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement

Sports Coaching Foundation, founded by former Andhra Ranji cricketer K. Sai Baba in 1991 in Masab Tank here, has embarked on a challenging journey of providing basic amenities free of cost for students of Government schools, including sports material to dabble in some of the affordable disciplines like football, basketball and kho kho, with the biggest task being levelling the playfields.

This is an initiative which any government agency should have taken up long back. And, now SCF (a registered NGO), having covered 380 schools across the State, including some in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, is targeting 1,000 schools and 10 lakh school children.

“Yes, funding is a major hurdle with only Microsoft chipping in with some support. But, we are determined to reach the milestone,” says 71-year-old Sai Baba, former Osmania University and Nizam College alumnus.

“The best part is that headmasters and principals of many of these schools where we have taken up this programme are happy with the increasing attendance of students. This is on record and they acknowledge it is because of the students’ interest in sports. This is a major morale-booster for us,” he said.