Director’s Message

"Welcome to Somaiya Sports Academy!"

I am Aazaz Khan, Director of the institute. I have been associated with this vision since two and a half years. Somaiya Sports Academy was earlier known as Somaiya Sports Centre and was established in 2001. In 2016, it was structured into an academy with the mission to have maximum sports participation and high-performance sports training for all the Somaiya students and other sports enthusiasts. Somaiya Sports Academy is a premier sporting institution armed with state-of-the-art sports facilities and a dedicated team of certified coaches and sports development professionals. It caters to individuals and teams who aspire to compete at a high level and provide world-class coaching. We are located in Somaiya Vidyavihar’s lush green 50-acre campus, in the central suburbs of Mumbai.

Somaiya Sports Academy currently focuses on coaching in 12 sports. Last year, 3816 students took credit and non-credit courses, 1456 students were trained for competitions and 6059 students took part in various sports events. The Somaiya Sports Academy is accredited to All India Football Federation and has junior and sub-junior Hero i-League teams. The academy is also accredited to Mumbai District Football Association and has 1st division, 2nd division and Women’s division Football teams. The academy is well supported by the Badminton Gurukul, Bhaichung Bhutia Football School and The Skate Academy as training partners. I am delighted that in addition to the focus on conducting credit and non-credit sports courses and high performance sports training, Somaiya Sports Academy now has an academic wing under Somaiya Vidyavihar University to conduct Sports programmes. We have jointly conceived the MBA Sports Management degree with KJ Somaiya Institute of Management in response to an increasing need for qualified sport professionals who are well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to support the growing sport and allied industries in India and the world. Today is a great day as we launch BSc Sports and Exercise Science programme to address the need for a professional programme at an undergraduate level which addresses the need of a science-based sports and exercise training programme. The focus of the programme will be to help the students learn how to help athletes maximise performance and endurance in preparation for events and competitions while lessening the risk of injury. I firmly believe that many top undergraduate students will pursue their interest and passion in the areas of sport management and sport science. The programme offered is a 3 year full-time programme consisting of 6 semesters. The final semester will have one month internship training. The students who have successfully passed their 10+2 Examination from Arts, Commerce or Science streams can apply for theBSc Sports and Science Programme.

The strength of the BSc Sports and Exercise Science programme lies in the expertise of its staff, the quality of teaching, as well as the emphasis on the theory-practice approach for all courses taught. This ensures that our graduates are qualified to take on major roles in the sport industry in the future. We have state-of-the-art sports facilities for all mainstream andindigenous sports. With the assistance of K J Somaiya College of Physiotherapy, we are also proud to have sport science laboratories as well as other facilities at the university campus to support quality teaching and learning for the staff and students. Our faculty members are highly motivated, and always strive for providing the best teaching and learning experience for our students so that they are well equipped for their careers. There are also numerous activities and opportunities provided for our students to participate, learn, and grow holistically. These include research projects, industry experience via the Final Year Project, and the internship programme to ensure that they are well-qualified to take on important roles in the future. To be housed in the Eklavya Sports Complex, the Sports and Exercise Science program will prepare the student for various Sports, health-and- fitness related career paths through numerous experiential learning opportunities on and off campus. After successful completion of the programme, our graduates will have multiple sport-related career opportunities:

• Sports Coach
• Sports Scientist
• Performance Developer
• Physical Education Teacher
• Fitness Instructor
• Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Sports Trainer
• Sports Analytics
• Sports Retail
• Health and Fitness Chains
• Health and Fitness Apps
• Sports Medicine and Nutrition
• Event Management Companies
• Sports Leagues
• Sports Specialists
• Sports Media Management

So if you want to be a part of the exciting and rapidly growing field of Sports and Exercise Science, become part of the Somaiya Vidyavihar Sports community. If you have any questions, please contact the sports admissions team at admissions.sports@somaiya.edu

We look forward to helping you in your journey toward a career in the Sports and fitness-related fields. Somaiya Vidyavihar University is a place where you can explore new possibilities, pursue your passion and above all find yourself.

Advisory Board

Expert Members

Aparna Popat

Aparna Popat is a 2-time Olympian (2000, 2004) in badminton.

She represented India for 13 years and participated in all the major tournaments including the World Championships, Asian Games and won 4 medals at the Commonwealth Games (including a silver in 1998).

At the World Junior Championships in 1996, she won a silver medal thereby becoming the first Indian to win a medal at this event.

She dominated the national badminton scene winning 16 National Championship singles titles in 17 years including 9-consecutive Senior National titles (equalling Padmashree Prakash Padukone national record).

In recognition of her achievements, the Govt. of India honoured her with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2005.

With a career high world ranking of No.16, she retired as India’s no.1 player – remaining undefeated at the National Championships.

Aparna was one of the 17 participants to be selected from around the world and the only Indian to be selected for the Global Sports Mentoring Programme 2012, an initiative by the US Dept of State, promoted by Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State and EspnW. This prestigious programme was aimed at empowering women and girls through sport.

With a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) and her experience and expertise as an Olympian, she previously served as the Executive Director of the Olympians Association of India and currently is a member of the General Assembly of the Indian Olympic Association.

Through her new role as Chief Operating Officer at All Is Well - an integrated fitness app to unlock sports performance, she is working in the fitness and sports science, sports tech, and analytics space.

Aparna continues to give back to Indian sport and society through Coaching, Mentoring, as a TV Commentator and Sports Analyst, TEDx and Keynote Speaker, Member of various Government and Advisory committees and supports many social and CSR initiatives for rural, grassroot and community sport and empowerment of women.

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Mr. Adille Sumariwala

Olympian, Athletics - Moscow 1980 Arjuna Awardee President - Athletics Federation of India Council Member - World Athletics

Mr. Adille Sumariwalla competed as a 100m runner in several international competitions and at the Olympics. Currently, he is the president of the Athletics Federation of India, and was elected as one of the members of council of IAAF at its 50th congress, thus becoming the first Indian to do so. He is also an entrepreneur and owns many media businesses in India, after tenures at some media companies including the American Media Company.

Educational Background

Sumariwalla completed his schooling at St. Mary's school, Mumbai. His educational qualifications include a Bachelor's Degree in Financial Accounting and Auditing from the University of Bombay alongside a Master's Degree in Business Management from the University of Mumbai. He pursued an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management in Manila and continued his education at the Harvard Business School - India Research Centre He was a treasurer at the Olympians Association of India and a member of the Terry Fox Committee in India. He has collected over USD 10 Million since its inception. He acted as a member of the Academic Council at the University of Bombay and the Academic Council at the Shivaji University of Kolhapur.

Athletics Career

Adille Sumariwalla participated in the OLYMPIC GAMES, Moscow 1980 along with bagging a medal at the Asian Track and Field Championships, Tokyo 1979. He shone brightly when he bagged the gold medal at the South Asian Games in 1984 and held the National Record for 18 years in the 100m sprint category. The State Government awarded him for his Excellence in Athletics in the year 1980 alongside his Excellence in Coaching in 1999. He also played a vital role in coaching Olympians, International & National athletes. Sumariwalla has been an athlete since his school and college days. He had set the men's 200m Collegiate Record and held it for 35 years, until Gaurang Amre broke the record. He expressed gladness as the record was broken, but at the same time expressed concern over the time taken to break the record, quoting these records should be broken "every two or three years".[3] He has won the national title in 100m sprint 11 times. Sumariwalla represented India at the 1980 summer Olympics as a hundred-meter sprinter. He has been the Chef-de-Mission for the Indian contingent, for the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea. Sumariwalla is of the opinion that there has been great increase in infrastructure for sports by the government in recent years, and has quoted that "The day is not far when India can expect an Olympics Medal in Athletics". He has also been quoted as saying "If athletes do not perform well in the Olympics, we will take action against them." His dream finally came through when Neeraj Chopra won a Gold Medal at Tokyo Olympics, under his Presidency.

Sports Administration Experience

Sumariwalla has been a council member for IAFF since 2015 where he served as the Chair of the Strategic Communications Advisory Group and the Age Manipulation Committee alongside being a member of the Development Committee. He was President of the Athletics Federation and Vice President of the National Olympic Committee. He furthered his sports administration experience by functioning as a member of the Olympic Council of Asia under the Sports and Environment Committee. At the Asian Athletics Championships (2013 & 2017) he contributed as the Chairman of the Organising Committee. He was chosen as a Member of the Organising Committee for WA Permit Meetings, Commonwealth Games (2010), Commonwealth Youth Games (2008), Indian National Games (1994 & 2020). Adding to his accomplishments in the field of sports administration, he conformed as the Chef-de-Mission for the 2014 Asian Games. He was also appointed as a Member of the 'Mission Olympic Cell' by the Government of India in preparation for the 2020 & 2024 Olympic Games. He even functioned as a member of the Core Team for the Fit India Movement and the Governing Council for the Khelo India Scheme.

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