New Delhi:
The triumphant Australian men's and women's hockey teams turned out to be generous winners as they decided to donated their gear to an Indian charity.
Salaam Bombay Foundation, an NGO that runs a hockey academy for underprivileged girls have received the gear used in the Commonwealth Games.
"Having recognised the need for supporting Salaam Bombay Foundation's initiative, Hockey Australia has decided to voluntarily donate the hockey kits for the benefit of the children that they work with," Mark Anderson, CEO, Hockey Australia said.
While Australia successfully defended their Commonwealth Games crown, defeating a spirited New Zealand 4-2 via the tie-breaker in the final of the women's hockey event, while the men's team thrashed India 8-0 to win the gold.
"We believe that this will go a long way in providing these children with a lifetime opportunity to be a part of a tremendous sporting experience," he said.
Anderson said the initiative was not an usual one.
"We do not usually give away our gear but we were impressed by the foundation and their objective and wanted to support their endavour." he said.
Hockey India has also supported this initiative and joined Hockey Australia in making an appeal to all the participating teams to follow suit.
The Salaam Bombay Hockey Academy run by the NGO comprises of a girls hockey team led by the ex-India coach Mir Ranjan Negi and is conducted with 120 girls from Mumbai's poorest schools.
"We have ambitious plans to scale up this initiative to cover over 75 schools and 1500 children in the immediate future and the contribution made by Hockey Australia and the others would help us in realising this objective," said Negi.
Padmini Somani, director of Salaam Bombay Foundation said, "This support from Australia will go a long way for the girls from grassroots to take up hockey as a serious sporting opportunity."