The All India Tennis Association (AITA) in collaboration with the Australian Open have completed the selection of the Aviva Ballkids trials at the R K Khanna Stadium for the second consecutive year.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) in collaboration with the Australian Open have completed the selection of the Aviva Ballkids trials at the R K Khanna Stadium for the second consecutive year.
This year the response has been tremendous. 300 short listed players from over 3,000 applicants got the opportunity to attend the - Australian Open Aviva Ballkids trials.
The six Indian kids selected to participate as an Aviva Ballkids and represent India at Australian Open 2006 are; Ishita Matharu, Shounak Kumar, Ayesha Nanda, Pooja Narayana Annavarapu, Garry Singh Amor and Sandeep Rohila.
We are grateful to Mr Richie Gee, Australian Open Asia/Pacific marketing manager, who has been the main architect for this entire programme and his team of Aviva Ballkid selectors consisting of Ben Holland, Victoria Wark and Anne Marie Howard who flew from Melbourne, Australia for carrying out Aviva Ballkids trials and selection.
Mr Richie Gee said: “It’s great to be back here in India with the popularity of tennis growing with the recent success of Sania Mirza, who was a recipient last year of the Australian Open maindraw wildcard, we hope this once in a lifetime experience provides inspiration for all the kids who attended the trials to continue with this great game of tennis and one day make their way to the Australia not as a ballkid but as a player in the Australian Open – the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific. I would like to thank the AITA and Aviva India for their support and wish the selected kids the best of luck at Australian Open 2006 – maybe they can repeat the success of one of last years selected India kids Akshat Joshi, who became the first Asian kid to participate as a ballkid on center court.”
Also, Mr Vivek Khanna, director marketing Aviva Life Insurance, said: “I congratulate the six youngsters who will travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open Championships as part of ‘Aviva Ballkids programme'.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for the young Indian ballkids as they will get to share the court with the biggest tennis players in the world. We hope that one of them will return, one day, to play the Australian Open Championships and make India proud.”
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For further information, please contact:
Pooja Garg Khan
Aviva Life Insurance
E-mail: pooja.khan@avivaindia.com
Tel: 9811315510
About Aviva
Aviva Life Insurance is a joint venture between Dabur and Aviva. Current paid up capital amounts to 320 Crores. Dabur are the 74% shareholder and Aviva the 26% shareholder. Aviva plc is the UK’s largest insurance Group and the world’s oldest insurance Group, with a history dating back to 1696. Today, it is the sixth largest insurer worldwide, with 30 million customers and Ł291 billion assets under management. Prior to nationalization, Aviva was the biggest of the foreign insurers operating in the Indian market.
Founded in 1884, Dabur is one of India’s oldest and largest groups of companies with the Group’s consolidated annual sales in excess of Rs 1,537 crores. A professionally managed company it is the country’s leading producer of traditional healthcare products.
Aviva pioneered the concept of Bancassurance in India, and has leveraged its global expertise in this area successfully in India. Bancassurance has been contributing close to 65% of the total sales of Aviva India. Through its branches and its Bancassurance partner locations, Aviva products are available in 200 towns and cities across India.
Aviva’s products have been designed in a manner to provide customers flexibility, transparency and value for money. We have been among the first companies to introduce Unit Linked products in the market.
Aviva has a unique need based sales approach through the “Financial Health Check” (FHC). The FHC is a free service administered by our FPAs (Financial Planning Advisers) for a need-based analysis of the customer’s long-term savings and insurance needs. Depending on the life stage and earnings of the customer, the Financial Health Check assesses and recommends the right insurance product for them.
Aviva is also keen to reach out to the underprivileged that have not had access to insurance so far. Through its association with Basix (a micro financial institution) and other NGOs, it has been able to cover lakhs of lives.