Kolkata, 18th October 2022: Kolkata Thunderbolts collaborated with ITK Leipzig University Germany (ITK India), IQAC and the State Institute of Physical Education for Women to organize a 2-day International Workshop on Empowering Women through Volleyball. The workshop trained more than 150 female students from across the state on coaching techniques in Volleyball through an integration of theoretical and practical sessions conducted by Volleyball fraternity veterans. The Consul-General of Germany in Kolkata, Mr. Manfred Auster, graced the opening ceremony as the Chief Guest, along with Mr. Pawan Kumar Patodia, Chairman & Co-Owner of Kolkata Thunderbolts, as the Guest of Honour.
Kolkata Thunderbolts, who have been extremely active in the past few months with their grass-roots volleyball promotion activities for men and women alike through their volleyball carnival-like tournaments, also organized an exhibition match between the women’s teams of Mogra Sporting Club and the Eastern Railways Volleyball Team to add an element to the workshop. At the conclusion of the match, close to 200 jerseys were distributed by Mr. Patodia amongst the students present.
The workshop was organized and implemented by Dr. Uma Kant Singh, ITK Ambassador for India and South East Asia, Dr. M. H. Kumara and Mr. Jaideep Sarkar, both international accredited veterans from the Volleyball fraternity. Addressing the students Mr. Patodia said, “On many occasions I have found my daughters, my girls, have outperformed my boys in comparison, and I could not be prouder of them! I hope we take inspiration from certain foreign countries where women’s volleyball is ahead of men’s instead of trailing behind. On this platform, I promise to strive for a more appropriate representation of women in all events ranging from the list of dignitaries at an event to the teams participating in a tournament.”
About Kolkata Thunderbolts – Kolkata Thunderbolts are the inaugural season champions of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23. The auction for the 2nd season of the league was recently conducted in Kolkata where all Eight franchise owners including the Muthoot Fincorp Group, CureFit group, PhonePe founders, Baseline Ventures, and others, graced the star-studded event to build their own squads. The first season conducted in February 2022 was broadcasted on Sony TV Network and garnered 133 million viewers cumulatively. With the recent tie up with FIVB and Volleyball World, PVL has its eyes set on achieving new highs with their viewership numbers this year.