It was a dream come true for K. Sai Baba when he saw Olympic champions, including Yelena Isinbayeva, on the dais in Monaco!
What made it even more special was Mr. Baba’s city-based Sports Coaching Foundation being named one of the top three NGOs in the world by the Peace and Sports Forum in Monaco for promoting development and peace through sport.
For the record, the other two in the top three list are Right to Movement based in Palestine and Afghan Connection based in the United Kingdom.
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Back in the city after being invited to the award ceremony in Monaco, Mr. Baba said that more than the award itself, it was the aura of the gathering that floored him. “And, to figure in the top three NGOs of the world is something that I had never imagined when I started the SCF 25 years ago,” said the former Ranji Trophy cricketer after being felicitated by former DGP and president of the then AP Olympic Association H.J. Dora.
Incidentally, the award by Peace and Sports Forum was the first international recognition that the SCF has received, that too in the presence of distinguished guests, which included Olympic medallists, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Al Khalifa of Bahrain (heir to King of Bahrain and president of Bahrain Olympic Committee), and Nobel prize winners.
“I was pleased to hear the message from United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace Wilfried Lemke, who said Peace and Sports Forum was the best international forum for promoting development and peace through sports. This is exactly what the SCF has been doing in Masab Tank,” he said.
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Mr. Dora, who was instrumental in creating world-class infrastructure in the city like floodlighting the LB Stadium in 1991, bringing astro-turf to Begumpet Hockey Ground, and constructing the first-ever Olympic Bhavan in the country at LB Stadium, lauded the services of Mr. Baba.