England's Loughborough University announces sports scholarship for Indian students

As the curtains closed on the Paris 2024 Olympics, where India celebrated their iconic medallists like Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, and PR Sreejesh, Indian entrepreneur, strategic investor, and table tennis player Aman Dhall announced a five-year scholarship at the prestigious Loughborough University in memory of his late father, Virendra Kumar Dhall.

The 5-year scholarship, valued at GBP 12,500, aims to support Indian students at Loughborough who are either competing at the international level or are on track to represent India in their respective sports.

The Virendra Kumar Dhall Scholarship for Sporting Excellence is designed to empower young Indian athletes who face financial and other obstacles in their pursuit of sporting excellence. Eligible students include those enrolled at Loughborough University at the undergraduate, postgraduate, or Ph.D. level, whether studying part-time or full-time.

The annual scholarship will provide up to £2,500 to help athlete scholars cover essential costs associated with training & competing in high-level sporting events. This includes expenses related to travel for trials, equipment, coaching, nutritional advice, gym memberships, and other necessary resources for performance sports.

Loughborough University has been a training ground for India’s youth sporting icon, Neeraj Chopra, and home to many current and former international sporting icons such as Lord Sebastian Coe, Adam Peaty and Paula Radcliffe.

Aman Dhall, who completed his MSc in Sport Management at Loughborough University in 2010-11, established this scholarship to honour his father’s dream of seeing him play for India. Aman faced significant financial challenges early in his sporting career, which hindered his ability to pursue professional sports full-time. Drawing inspiration from his own experiences, Aman is dedicated to supporting the next generation of Indian athletes through this scholarship.

Nick Jennings, Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University: ”We seek to welcome exciting talent from across the world to benefit from the outstanding performance sport programmes we have here at Loughborough University, and this new scholarship for sporting excellence will ensure that young Indian athletes are empowered to do so.

“Our University strategy, Creating Better Futures. Together, emphasises the importance of excelling in sport and using our pre-eminence to create new opportunities to enhance the experience of both our students and athletes across sport globally. Aman Dhall’s generosity and support through this scheme shares precisely this vision.”

Reflecting on this initiative, Aman Dhall said, “This scholarship is a tribute to my father, who always believed in my potential to represent India. By providing this support, I hope to help talented Indian athletes overcome the obstacles that I once faced, so they can achieve their dreams.”

“This scholarship acknowledges that athletes often require funding from various sources to train at the highest level, so it imposes no restrictions for those already holding other scholarships.”

Aman Dhall played for the Loughborough University Table Tennis Team and Leicestershire County during his time in the UK in 2010-11. He has earlier played for the state of Uttar Pradesh during his junior days. He recently fulfilled his long-held dream of representing India at the ITTF World Masters Table Tennis Championship 2024 in Rome in the 40+ age category.

Loughborough University finished with a total of four gold, four silver, and eight bronze medals at Paris 2024 Olympics, and would have stood 16th in the overall medal table if reclassified as a country.

More than 240 Loughborough University and Loughborough College alumni have competed at Olympic and Paralympic Games since 1948, spanning every summer games ever since, with a tally of more than 125 medals