The First edition of ‘ONGC Para Games’ kicked off today at Thyagraj Stadium, New Delhi. The 3-day event- a first of its kind corporate initiative, will witness participation from 120 Employees-100 men and 20 women with Disabilities from 16 work centers from across the country. The 1st ONGC Para Games is majorly focused on Athletics, Badminton and Table Tennis. The participants belong to different categories of disabilities, namely, VH (Visually Impaired), HH (Hearing Impaired) and OH (Orthopedically Handicapped).
The events are categorized into 8 sub categories- Genderwise, age wise and disability wise.A total of 46 Events will be held in the 3 days extravaganza, which comprises of 5 categories in Badminton, 3 categories in Table Tennis, 4 Categories in Wheelchair and 34 in Athletics including 100 mtr, 200 mtr, 400 mtr, 2 Km Walk, Long jump and Discuss throw.
Inaugurating this special event, Mr. Shashi Shanker, CMD-ONGC 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 also added that ONGC currently employs 282 Persons with disabilities with more likely to join the organization.
ONGC has been at the forefront of promoting sports among various sections of the society with a dedicated corporate sports function that caters to the requirements of sportspersons at grassroot level. Many world-class sportspersons in different game disciplines have been spotted, nurtured and supported by ONGC through its structured initiatives. Today ONGC has more than 170 international sportspersons on its rolls representing the country in various sports. ONGCians have brought laurels to the country in Olympics, Commonwealth Games and various International stages of individual games.
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) and many more.
