ONGC hosts first ever Corporate Para Games
NEW DELHI: ONGC has taken a giant leap by hosting a corporate initiative – ONGC Para Games — from December 19-21. With this, ONGC has become one of the first corporates to provide a platform that promotes participation of specially-abled employees in various sports and showcases their talents. ONGC CMD Shashi Shanker inaugurated the event on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Shanker said: “ONGC is committed to ensure social inclusiveness and providing Equal Opportunities in Employment for the specially-abled, in line with the Government of India’s mandate, for which various measures are being put in place.” He added that ONGC currently employs as many as 282 people with disabilities.
The three-day event will witness 120 employees — 100 men and 20 women with disabilities from 16 work centres from across the country — participating. The first ONGC Para Games is focussed on athletics, badminton and table tennis. The participants belong to different categories of disabilities — VH (Visually Impaired), HH (Hearing Impaired) and OH (Orthopedically Handicapped).
The events are categorised into eight sub-categories — Gender-wise, age-wise and disability-wise. A total of 46 events will be conducted in the three-day extravaganza, which comprises five categories in badminton, three categories in table tennis, four categories in wheelchair and 34 in athletics including 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 2 km walk, long jump and discus throw.
ONGC has been the forefront of sports promotion among various sections of the society with a dedicated corporate sports programme that caters to the requirements of sportspersons at a grassroot level. Several world-class sportspersons have been spotted, nurtured and supported by ONGC through its structured initiatives.
It has more than 170 international sportspersons on its rolls representing the country in various sports. Ongcians have brought laurels for the country in the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and several individual games on an international platform.
Prominent ONGC sportspersons include Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma (Cricket), Pankaj Advani (Billiards & Snooker), Shiva Thapa (Boxing), Koneru Humpy (Chess), Rashmi Kumari (Carrom), M R Poovamma, Kavita Raut (Athletics), Ashwini Ponnappa (Badminton), Heena Sidhu (Shooting), Yuki Bhambri (Tennis) among a few.