TUCC Launched By Shah Rukh Khan

Add as a preferred source on Google

The first ever ‘Toyota University Cricket Championship (TUCC)' was launched by Superstar and Brand Ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan, supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and NDTV at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai. This exciting new campaign, to encourage cricket at the university level, aims at discovering, nurturing and promoting young hopefuls and providing national exposure to extraordinary sporting talent as the slogan of the TUCC states, ‘Ab Humari Baari Hai'.

The Championship aims to revive the spirit of education with sports. It is a platform for aspiring young cricketing talent to prove their mettle and stand tall in front of the nation. A first of its kind, this Championship will provide quality live programming to college students from across the country. Addressing the audience Dr. MM Pallam Raju, the HRD Minister said, "I am happy that the HRD Ministry is a part of this great initiative. Sports is an essential requirement in the process of development. This will help identify talent that can contribute to both the national and international levels. I also hope Shah Rukh Khan continues to put in his involvement with the same passion. University sports strengthens ties between Alumni and their colleges and I hope it will have the same effect in branding university sports."

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairperson, NDTV, said "NDTV has always supported education and sports through several very successful campaigns. Taking a big step forward, we are very pleased to announce the Toyota University Cricket Championship as a platform to nurture young talent in the field of cricket and help discover the next generation's cricketing heroes. We look to everyone to support and boost university cricket in India."

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sandeep Singh, DMD and COO, TKM said, "TUCC is a special project in India. Toyota's foray into this new venture is in line with our global philosophy of creating a sense of ‘WAKU DOKI', which in Japanese means ‘excitement, joy and fun'. With the help of our partners NDTV, we have planned a very aggressive marketing campaign for TUCC which will entail a blitz of promotion and BTL activities starting today till the 17th of February and a number of contests and other attractions from February 17th till the 10th of March, 2013. We will also run very exciting contests for the young participants from the audience who will be eligible to win a brand new Toyota Etios Liva. We will also gift a Toyota Etios to the man of the series".

Coca Cola are Associate Sponsors of the Championship, and Mr Venkatesh Kini, Senior VP Operations- India, Coca Cola added "Our purpose of associating with sports tournament is twofold. On one hand, it helps identify and promote young talent and gives them a well charted course to make their careers in sports, on the other; it helps us get youngsters into sports arenas and grounds. With change in lifestyles, we are not spending as much time playing as we would do in our childhood. Also sports promote social cohesiveness and well-being and hence Coca-Cola has always taken a very active position in sports. We are confident that this tournament can emerge as a powerful youth mobilization programme."

On being introduced as Brand Ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan, said, "Everything I am today I learnt through sports. We need to promote sports and start at grass root levels. This in one of the finest initiatives." Saying that he was "thrilled to be personally involved" he carried on to say that he was a "big believer that sports of all kinds should be backed by big businesses". He also said that being appreciated as a sportsperson goads everyone to do better in all aspects of life and that the wins and losses in sports teaches young people to value their struggles in life.

The TUCC is an extension of the Rohinton Baria Tournament and the Championship matches will begin in 2013. The top eight teams from Rohinton Baria will sweat it out, playing at various University grounds and International stadiums in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore among other cities. The participating teams for the 2013 Championship that have been selected from the 4 regional zones are- Jamia Milia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, Awadhesh Pratap Singh University, Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Mumbai University, Jiwaji University, University of Madras and Jain University.

The teams have been selected through the Rohinton Baria Tournament, which involves participation from more than two hundred Universities and twenty lakh students across the country. Some matches will also be followed by a carnival with musical performances, great food and engaging on-ground contests.