SAP aid for Usha School

The software research and development firm will back the school under their educational support programme, with financial aid amounting to Rs 9.70 lakh per year, according to PT Usha.

Usha was in Bangalore on Tuesday to attend SAP Labs’ Diversity Week celebrations. “The deal covers the educational needs of the 17 athletes training at the Usha school,” SAP Labs
India managing director VR Ferose said.

Speaking at the function, Usha stressed the need to go for long-term planning to achieve success at the world level. “We only prepare with short-term goals in mind, when the Olympic Games are just round the corner. Athletics requires years of training and hence requires long-term vision,” she said.

Meanwhile, the process of laying a synthetic track at the Usha School cleared another hurdle, with a Memorandum of Understanding being signed with the Sports Authority of India last week.

SAI had laid down a few conditions before they could go ahead with the project, including one that stipulated Usha train a certain number of SAI athletes. But that was altered after discussions with SAI officials, with Usha insisting that athletes should come through trials in order to undergo training at the school.