The third edition of Special Sports and Para Sports was organized on Thursday at Hindustan College of Arts and Science grounds from 8 am to 5 pm.

G Chandeesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore (North) and Deepa Mohan Raj, Founder, Kaumaram Prasanthi Special School inaugurated the event. Around 200 children with intellectual disabilities, learning disability and children with physical disability participated.

The games were conducted as per the special olympics norms as it could serve as a talent hunt for these children, to get identified and trained for further events.

This year,Tae Kwon do, table tennis and Blind football were held as a showcase event for the adult para athletes.

Some of the players who participated & won medals at the ‘Khelo India Tournament’ in Delhi [Mr Muthuraj – Shot put:10.33 mtr (Gold) & Discus – 32.94 mtr (Gold), Ms Keerthika T – Javeline Throw :9.59 mtrs (Gold) & Discuss:11 .05 mtrs (Gold), Mr Manoj – race x 100 mtrs (Gold) & 400 mtrs (Gold) and Dr Avinash Gopinathan – Table Tennis : Silver & Class 2 wheel chair table tennis] attended the event and cheered up the players.

Rahul Kamath, Chair, Coimbatore Vizha & Ashwin Manoharan, Chair, Yi Coimbatore along with other key members felicitated the players as they are a pride of Coimbatore.

The Pitch 2024

The Pitch, one of the marquee events of Coimbatore Vizha is a path-breaking event aimed at fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship among Investors, Incubators, Accelerators, and aspiring entrepreneurs, successfully took place at PSG IM. This event, in line with the core ethos of Coimbatore Vizha, provided a platform for budding entrepreneurs – a platform for the people and by the people of Coimbatore.

The event witnessed the participation of 150 individuals and opened with a keynote address by Mr. Senthil NatarajanMD,Pazhamudir Nilayam. Other distinguished speakers included Mr.Vishnu Vardhan, Infinite Cercle and Ms. Indira Vidyaprakash, Senior Director, Product Management at Workday. The jury panel consisted of Mr. Vasukumar, Founder of Vridhi Techno Farms, Ms. Indira Vidyaprakash, and Mr Senthil Natarajan.

The winners of The Pitch were announced as follows:

•1st Prize:Mentorbee Educational Solution

•1st Runner-up: Goat Robotics

•2nd Runner-up:SahayathaDhanvantri Biomedical

•Women Entrepreneur Award: Nanic Ayurveda

•Social Impact Award:GlamScrap Pvt Ltd.

•Environment and Sustainability Award: Scute Wrap Pvt. Ltd.

Cash prizes of 75,000, 50,000, and 25,000 rupees were awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, respectively. Special Awards recipients were also granted 10,000 rupees each.

The Key Highlight: “NAN funded the start-up Xera Robotics (Mr. Mohan & team) with 1.5 crores.”

Acknowledging the collaborative spirit, The Pitch engaged ecosystem partners such as TNAU’s incubator cell – TBI ABIS, Codissia Defence Innovation, Atal Incubation Center, KGISL AGile, Cultiv8, AIC Raise, and Forge Accelerator.

This event not only celebrated business success but also recognized contributions to social impact and environmental sustainability. The Prize Money and Special Awards serve as a testament to the commitment to encouraging and rewarding innovation within the Coimbatore entrepreneurial community.