Student from Somaiya Vidyavihar selected for preparation of Olympics 2024 Government of India Camp

Siddhesh Pande, a student of S K Somaiya Degree College in Somaiya Vidyavihar, has been chosen as a part of the Government of India camp (8 Boys and 8 Girls) to represent India at the Olympics 2024 competition.

Mumbai: 22nd November 2019- 21 years old Siddhesh Pande studying in Bachelor in Management Studies at S K Somaiya Degree College, has been shortlisted amongst the elite athletes of India for preparation of Olympic 2024 Government of India initiative for the Men’s Open category. He has also been selected to represent India at the South Asian Games which is going to be held in Kathmandu in Nepal from 1^st to 10^th December 2019.

Siddhesh was selected after his excellent performances in the last national ranking tournaments held at Guwahati and also his international arena performances in ITTF Slovenian Open, Croatia Open, Czech Republic tournament. Recently, he was in Indonesia representing our country at Indonesia Open International Tournament.

Siddhesh has been playing Table Tennis since the past 12 years. He started playing from the age of 8 years and has already won several medals earlier. His selection is an outcome of his determination and hard work. He is a very consistent player and committed to practices for at least 6 hours on table every day. Also, the tremendous support and encouragement he has received from his family, his coach, his teachers and friends and played an instrumental role in his achievement.

Siddhesh's father, Mr. Mukund M. Pande is a central railway employee and his mother Mrs. Harshada M. Pande is a lecturer. Siddesh said "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, where I get the chance to participate in the biggest sports platform in the world, the Olympics! I am going to give my best and make India proud.

Mr. Mukund, Siddhesh’s father said, “We knew that he is excellent in Table Tennis and that he will do well, but we didn't imagine that he would get a chance to be a part of the Olympics so young. He has made us proud!

Director Somaiya Sports Academy Aazaz Khan said, “We at Somaiya Vidyavihar are thrilled and proud of his outstanding achievement. Siddhesh has been so focussed and consistent with his practise, that we can only envision that he gives a great performance. We are here to provide him with all the support that he needs, and we wish him all the very best to make India proud".

About Somaiya Vidyavihar: (www.somaiya.edu)

Padmabhushan Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya founded Somaiya Vidyavihar an education trust in 1959, to provide quality holistic education. It was founded on the belief that, education is an important pillar of nation building with the power to change lives, and education must innovate to encourage holistic development of youth. It is known as much for its Science, Technology, Engineering, Management, Social Sciences and Commerce programs, as for its programs for academic studies in various faiths and cultures of India.

Somaiya Vidyavihar fosters a start-up ecosystem that encourages multi-disciplinary collaboration, accelerates innovation, and cultivates the next generation of start-up leaders. 

Somaiya Vidyavihar encompasses 34 institutions, with more than 39,000 students and 1,500 faculty. It’s main campus is in Mumbai, but Somaiya Vidyavihar also operates six schools in rural India i.e. in Dahanu, Sakarwadi, Laxmiwadi, Kopargaon, Sameerwadi, Kutch, Bagalkot and Bhopal.