January 24 is National Girl Child Day: Hello Manyata and Kashika!

Living in the heart of Odisha, Manyata Singh, a 12th grader, clinched gold at the Odisha State Shooting Championship in 2023, earning a berth at the nationals, where she won the title in the Junior Women’s 10m Air Rifle category. She returned next year to the state championship and bagged a silver.

At just 23 years of age, Kashika Pradhan ranked No.1 in three air rifle events at the Odisha State Championships 2024 and even claimed the top spot in one event at the India Open Competition 2024. 

Manyata and Kashika’s dreams are fuelled by the support of their coaches and the cutting-edge training they receive at the Odisha Aditya Birla Gagan Narang Shooting High Performance Centre. Established in 2019, the Centre is a combined venture of Aditya Birla Group, the Government of Odisha and Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation (GNSPF). 

On National Girl Child Day, observed annually on January 24 in India, Aditya Birla Group salutes the spirit of girls like Manyata and Kashika who dare to dream big in the sports arena, but must face discrimination, lack of access to education and healthcare. One of the key areas of focus for our country is empowering girls through various means, including sports and physical health training.

Sports play a vital role in the overall development of a girl child. The Women’s Sports Foundation, of which Billie Jean King (America’s former world no. 1 tennis player) is the founder, says that 

• Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
• Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports.
   

By encouraging girls to participate in sports, India can help break traditional stereotypes and provide them with equal opportunities for growth. 

On National Girl Child Day, let us pledge to work together so that many more Manyatas and Kashikas may chart their own journey of excellence. 

At Aditya Birla Group, we endeavour to support the girl child in many ways, including education. But since we are talking abtout sports here, we would love to share this story with you. India’s cricket god, Sachin Tendulkar, has an eye for spotting talent early. He shared a Rajasthani girl’s video on X, and wrote, “Smooth, effortless, and lovely to watch! Sushila Meena’s bowling action has shades of you, @ImZaheer. Do you see it too?”

We quickly responded to the tweet: “What a brilliant find, @sachintendulkar! Sushila’s talent is undeniable. We would be thrilled to support her journey with a cricket training under our #FoursForGood initiative. Let us all rally behind Sushila and help her shine! Together we can be #AForceforGood.”