Guwahati, Sept. 12: Test cricketer Virender Sehwag today offered to set up a campus of Sehwag International School (SIS) in Assam, provided he gets support from the government or any other quarter.
"I am willing to open a campus here in Assam if the state government offers me a plot of land somewhere in the state. There is no dearth of sporting talent in Assam. All they need is a good infrastructure and training support to make quality players," Sehwag said here today.
Sehwag was here this afternoon to promote his Jhajjar-based school in Haryana during a media interaction at India Club. He also interacted with about 50 children from different schools of the city. He was accompanied by leading national physical trainer and former Assam Ranji player Nishanta Bordoloi, the strength-and-conditioning adviser of SIS.
"This institution does not just have my name, it is my school. It was a dream of my father to set up a school. When I was growing up, I used to travel almost five hours a day for cricket coaching. My father had told me 'if you earn enough in future, set up an institution where kids can study, stay and play,'" said Sehwag.
His father Krishen Sehwag died in 2007. Five months after his death, Sehwag clinched a triple century against South Africa when he got an offer from the Haryana government to open a school there. The institute was formally inaugurated by his mother on a 23-acre campus in Jhajjar district of Haryana in 2011. "We will be happy to open a school here too," Sehwag said.
"Our institute wants to maintain a balance between sports and academics. The students are selected through trials and tests. Anyone willing to get admitted has to go through some sports trials and sit for an academic test. A routine has been charted for them in which equal focus has been given to sports as well as academics."
The institute currently has 144 students, including three from the Northeast, in the hostel. It provides eight per cent reservation for underprivileged children and scholarships for outstanding students.
