14 Athletes supported by OGQ qualify for London 2012 Olympics

With 50 days to go to the London 2012 Olympics, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) is proud to announce that 14 athletes supported by us have secured qualification for the London Olympics. The following athletes will be aiming to achieve glory for India in the mega event starting from 27^th July:

Athletics: Vikas Gowda (Discus Throw), O P Singh (Shot Put) & Tintu Luka (800m)
Badminton: Saina Nehwal & P. Kashyap
Boxing: Mary Kom (51kg), Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg)& Manoj Kumar (64kg)
Shooting: Gagan Narang & Sanjeev Rajput (Rifle), Vijay Kumar and Annu Raj Singh (Pistol) & Shagun Chowdhary (Trap)

Two more archers, Rahul Banerjee and Tarundeep Rai, will be aiming to win the Olympic quota in Recurve archery at the Olympics qualification tournament at the USA World Cup later this month.

OGQ Co-Founder and Director Geet Sethi: “OGQ has provided these athletes world class support to bridge the gap between them and world’s best athletes. The most heartening fact is that majority of our athletes have qualified convincingly for the Olympics which will give them a lot of confidence going to London. All of them have the potential of winning a medal at the Olympics and we are confident that this will be a water shed moment in the history of Indian sports”

5 time World Boxing Champion Mary Kom: “OGQ has always been there for me and provided me the right support at the right time. They have arranged my personal physio with me for the last 2 years. They very efficiently organized 3 special training camps for me in Pune under Charles Atkinson who is an excellent coach. He helped me overcome my shortcomings against taller and stronger opponents. I would also like to thank Sports Ministry & SAI for sponsoring the training camps and IABF for their continued support in my aim of winning at the Olympics.”

Ace rifle shooter Sanjeev Rajput: “OGQ has supported me immensely in my training and preparation for London Olympics. I will be leaving shortly for Serbia for a training stint, funded by the Indian Navy and OGQ, in the lead up to Olympics. I am confident that it will help me focus and further enhance my technique.”

India’s top pistol shooter Vijay Kumar: “This is my first Olympics and I want to give my best for my country. It is important to remain focused in the lead up to such a big event & OGQ has helped me in exactly dong that. They take care of everything and all I have to do is concentrate on my shooting.”

OGQ CEO Viren Rasquinha: “London Olympics is going to be the biggest moment in the lifetime of most of our athletes and OGQ has ensured that they are ready for it. We sent Shagun Chowdhary to Dubai for a special training stint under an expert coach, who helped her in improving her technique and skills. We have been funding the training of Vikas Gowda under 4 times World Champion John Godina in Phoenix (USA). Gowda recently broke National Record in Discus Throw by a huge margin and is now among top discus throwers in the world. We have provided world class physios, peak performance trainers, nutritionists and doctors to keep our athletes in top shape for the London Olympics.”

Olympic Gold Quest also launched phase-2 of the signature campaign in Bombay Gymkhana to collect best wishes and messages from Pan-India for Indian athletes.

OGQ Co-Founder & Director PrakashPadukone: “Starting 27th July 2012, India’s best athletes will be representing our Nation at the biggest sports event on the planet. They need our support to perform to the best of their abilities. It is time all of us come together and let our athletes know that we are behind them in their quest for Olympic medals. Your messages will be given to the Indian contingent going for the London Olympics to inspire them to achieve glory.”

OGQ is a Not for Profit Foundation that supports the training and preparation of 32 sportspersons across 6 individual Olympic sports viz. Badminton, Boxing, Shooting, Archery, Luge and Athletics. The mission of OGQ is to help Indian athletes win Olympic Gold medals.

OGQ’s Board of Directors comprises of GeetSethi (9 times World Cue Sports Champion, Rajiv Gandhi KhelRatna Awardee), PrakashPadukone (All England Champion and Padmashree Awardee), Leander Paes (13 time Tennis Grand Slam Champion, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee), ViswanathanAnand (5 Time World Chess Champion, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee), Niraj Bajaj (4 time National Table Tennis Champion, Arjuna Awardee and Director, Bajaj Group of Companies), R Ramaraj (Senior Adviser, Sequoia Capital India), Shitin Desai (Executive Vice Chairman, DSP Merrill Lynch), Rakesh Khanna (Founding Partner, Ambit RSM), Neeraj Bharadwaj (MD, Accel Partners) and Deepika Padukone (Acclaimed Actor). Viren Rasquinha (former Indian Hockey Captain and Arjuna Awardee) is the CEO of Olympic Gold Quest.

Team OGQ

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