AU Small Finance Bank’s Bano Champion initiative provides guided sports
training to kids and youth at grassroots.
Jhunjhunu, January 30, 2025: AU Small
Finance Bank (AU SFB), India's largest SFB, yesterday concluded the first phase
of its AU Bano Champion 3rd State-level tournament, held at Gomti Devi College, Baragaon, Jhunjhunu on 28th & 29th January 2025. The event witnessed
participation of over 600 athletes competing across volleyball, throwball and
Kabaddi along with over 300 coaches, volunteers and officials.
Launched in October 2021, the AU Bano Champion program is a pioneering
CSR sports initiative of AU Small Finance Bank, with the aim to provide guided
sports training to rural youth, in sports such as throwball, kabaddi, football, athletics, wushu, boxing and volleyball.
Along with training athletes at grassroots, AU Bano Champion
consistently invests in the training and development of its coaches to keep
them abreast with the latest techniques, training methods and nutrition
knowledge to support the athletes in an optimal manner. Bano Champion has
garnered support from various sectors, including partnerships with sectoral
experts, association bodies, and the government. Over the years, AU Bano
Champion has produced over 55 national level athletes.
The opening ceremony of the
‘Bano Champion’ tournament began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by
the Chief Guest of the event Shree Rajendra Singh Shekawat, Senior IAS, Shree
Rajveer Singh, Deputy S.P- Nawalgarh, Mr. Pardeep Narwal, International Kabaddi
Player (Indian team member), World Cup & Asian Kabaddi Championship- Gold
Medallist and Mr. Bintu Narwal, Pro Kabaddi League- Patna Pilots, UP Yodha.
At the 3rd state level tournament, winners were:
Results:-
Sports
1) Kabaddi Boys
Shahpura (winner)
Ajmer (Runner-up)
2) Kabaddi Girls
Sikar (winner)
Alwar (Runner-up)
3) Throwball Girls
Jaipur (winner)
Shahpura (Runner-up)
4) Volleyball Girls
Jhunjhunu (winner)
Sikar (Runner-up)
5) Volleyball Boys
Shahpura (winner)
Alwar (Runner-up)
Elaborating on this initiative, Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Founder, MD &
CEO, AU Small Finance Bank, said, “My heartiest congratulations to the
winners of AU Bano Champion 3rd State Level Tournament and I wish them
continued success in their sports careers. We are proud to witness the sporting
glory of these athletes which is a testament of our sincere efforts to bring Badlaav
in the lives of rural youth by fostering an organised approach for developing
discipline, instilling leadership skills, and building character. Since
inception, AU Bano Champion program has closely monitored the progress of the
enrolled kids & youth and nurtured them on this journey from Maidaan se
Manzil Tak. The program has remarkably cultivated over 55 National Level
players, well-groomed and trained under our strategic & focussed
initiative. AU Bano Champion is yet another step by AU Small Finance Bank to
contribute towards uplifting the community, developing a culture of sports at
grassroots and helping sports enthusiasts to bring laurels for their state.”
On this occasion, Shree Rajendra Singh Shekawat, Senior IAS
Officer said, “I want
to congratulate all the winners and participants. Seeing these 600 sports
enthusiasts participating across 2 days with their utmost dedication and spirit
is a proud moment and a significant step towards building a sports-friendly
India. It is inspiring to witness a corporate entity like AU Small Finance Bank
stepping forward to promote this cause and empower youth from remote areas to
take up sports in a systematic way. I am honoured to be part of this occasion
and extend my congratulations to AU Small Finance Bank on a successful third season
of the AU Bano Champion State-Level Tournament. I am confident we will see many
of these young athletes shining on national platforms in the future.”
In addition to
Bano Champion, AU SFB, through its CSR arm, AU Foundation, is actively engaged
in two other focus areas, Skill Development and Women Empowerment.
About AU Small Finance Bank
AU Small Finance Bank Limited (AU SFB) is a
scheduled commercial bank and has established itself as the largest SFB in
India since starting its banking journey in April 2017. Established in 1996 by
Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, a first-generation entrepreneur, AU SFB boasts a 29
years-legacy with deep understanding of the rural and semi-urban markets and
customer segments. The Bank operates a sustainable business model that
facilitates credit to the unserved and underserved retail and MSME customer
segments while providing complete banking solutions to its deposit and branch
banking customers. As a tech-led Bank, AU has a strong digital presence with
innovative products and services like 24X7 video banking, credit cards,
personal loans, UPI QRs, payments, merchant lending, WhatsApp Banking, Chatbots
etc. and its digital bank application AU0101 remains among the higher rated
banking apps in India.
The Bank operates from 2,400 banking
touchpoints across 21 States & 4 Union Territories serving 1.1 Cr+
customers with an employee base of 49,000+ employees. As on 31st
December’24, Bank has a Shareholders Funds of ₹16,602 Cr, Deposit base of
₹1,12,260 Cr, Total Loan Portfolio of ₹1,08,921 Cr and a Balance sheet size of
₹1.43 Lac Cr+. AU SFB enjoys the trust of marquee investors and is listed at
both NSE and BSE. It has consistently maintained high external credit Rating
and is presently rated ‘AA/Stable’ by CRISIL Ratings, ICRA Ltd., CARE Ratings
and India Ratings, while the Bank’s FD is rated ‘AA+/Stable’ from CRISIL
Ratings.
Website: www.aubank.in | Twitter: @aubankindia | Facebook: AU Small Finance
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