Reconnecting New Zealand and India through sport and business

The recipients, who were formally awarded their scholarships in India by Minister Nathan Guy and New Zealand Education Brand Ambassador and former Black Cap Captain Stephen Fleming, were able to reconnect with the Minister at the New Zealand India Business Council Summit in Auckland recently which was part of the welcome programme. The scholarship winners also had the opportunity to chat with Prime Minister John Key at the Summit which is one of the biggest events on the New Zealand-India calendar.

Above: Tashi Malik shakes Prime Minister Key’s hand while Kritika Bhasin and Harpreet Kaur looks on.

“I had been looking for a sports scholarship in New Zealand since I found a video of Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, on Youtube talking about sports collaboration between the two countries. It was wonderful to actually meet the Prime Minister today and talk to him. I feel like my dream has come full circle” said 23 year old Surabhi Date, who is now studying a postgraduate diploma in sport and exercise science at AUT University in Auckland.

As the youngest Captain of the Asian Rugby Team at just 19 years old, Surabhi, wants to change the face of rugby. She is just one of ten the high profile students awarded sports scholarships funded by ENZ and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The scholarship students have just started their sports-related courses at universities and institutes of technology and polytechnics around the country.  Tashi and Nungshi Malik are the first twins in the world to scale the tallest peaks in the seven continents and to ski to the South Pole. The 23 year old twins are studying a graduate diploma in sport and exercise science at the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill.

The welcome programme was not only an opportunity for the students to sample Kiwi hospitality, it also exposed them to the many possibilities for careers in the sporting industry.

In their applications, many of the students expressed a desire to open a sport-related business including high performance academies. To stimulate this thinking, the students also spent time with Ritika Bhargava, a former international student from India who last year won ‘Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards for building up a successful chain of physiotherapy clinics in New Zealand and working with a variety of clients including cricket teams.

As well as putting the students through their paces physically, Ritika offered many words of wisdom to motivate them to make the most out of their time in New Zealand.

“I am glad that I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and study in New Zealand when I was young as I still have years ahead to experiment and explore my options in life.”  

Centre: Ketaki Khare and Ritika Bhargava while sports scholarship students Mehareen Nishander, Tashi Malik, Surabhi Date, Shashank Ghai and Yogesh Sharma look on.