Vedanta Harnesses Sports To Transform 3 Lakh Lives

On National Sports Day, Vedanta highlights grassroots-to-global sports initiatives spanning football, archery, para-sports and more
Vedanta, India’s critical minerals, energy transition metals, energy and technology conglomerate, marked National Sports Day by reaffirming its commitment to “Levelling the Playing Field: Sport for Social Inclusion.” The company said it has empowered nearly 3 lakh people through sports-led initiatives in FY25, spanning football, archery, hockey, marathons, squash, karate, padel and para-sports, making it one of India’s largest corporate-led grassroots sports movements.
Vedanta’s vision is to build a sporting ecosystem that nurtures grassroots talent and creates global podium success. The company has invested in infrastructure, coaching and community programmes to foster discipline, education and pathways to national and international platforms.
Football has emerged as a launchpad through the Sesa Football Academy (SFA) in Goa and Zinc Football Academy (ZFA) in Rajasthan. Since 1999, SFA has trained over 8,000 students, producing more than 230 professional footballers including India internationals Adil Khan and Denzil Franco. Twelve players from its ecosystem have represented India, with Pearl Fernandes recently joining the national squad after progressing through the Vedanta Women’s League. In Udaipur, ZFA has launched one of India’s first residential football academies for girls in partnership with the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), equipped with F-Cube technology and currently training 20 under-15 players from five states.
Grassroots programmes extend to Odisha, where more than 300 tribal youth are being trained in archery, athletics and karate. Among them, Sanjay Majhi secured Odisha’s first national-level archery medal in two decades. In Jharkhand, 50 archers supported by Vedanta ESL Steel Academy have together won over 50 medals. Para-sports have also been a focus, with Goa’s Sakshi Kale becoming the state’s first para-athlete to medal at the Para Khelo India Games before representing India internationally.
Beyond competitive sport, Vedanta links fitness with nutrition through its #RunForZeroHunger campaign, supporting marathons across major Indian cities where every kilometre run translates into meals for children at Nand Ghar, its flagship Anganwadi modernisation initiative.
At the professional level, Vedanta owns Odisha’s premier hockey team, Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, which topped the scoring charts in the 2024–25 Hockey India League. The company has also forayed into emerging sports with the Vedanta Leopards padel team, runners-up in the World Padel League’s debut season.
By blending grassroots participation, gender inclusion and professional sports, Vedanta’s initiatives underline how corporates can create sustainable impact through sport while fuelling aspirations of a young nation.