Nanban sports foundation is the brainchild of Kutraleeshwaran (Kutral), backed by the Nanban Group, a multi asset Investment Management Company based in the US.

Kutral is the youngest Arjuna Awardee who was decorated with the accolade at the age of 17 for bringing laurels to the country in the field of swimming.

He was an avid marathon swimmer who was hailed as a child prodigy in 1990s India. At age 12, he swam across the English Channel and went on to enter the Guinness book for breaking a 28-year-old record of swimming across six straits within a calendar year. Later, he represented India in various International competitions, including two World Series competitions.

Despite these achievements he couldn’t pursue his passion and had to give up on his dreams because of the lack of financial support. It is with this primary drive to not lose yet another promising talent, Nanban Sports Foundation took shape.

India has always been a powerhouse of talented athletes from different sporting backgrounds. But it is disheartening to see numerous hurdles these athletes face on their way to becoming Champions in their sport due to limited support at grassroots level. These sportsmen have a limited shelf life which often gets shortened due to injury and moreover families want a financially lucrative career for their kids. This has led to a scenario where a huge population is interested in sports, but only handful take it up as their profession.

Research shows that limited availability of information about a particular sport due to shortfall of coaches and mentors has led to underutilization of sports schemes in India. Focussed on providing a support system to elevate sports in India, NSF was conceptualized by a sportsman who wanted to glorify Indian sports and bring fame to the country.

Nanban means ‘friend’ in Tamil and that’s how we got our name. Nanban Sports Foundation truly believes in the adage “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. We spot and encourage talent from the grassroots level and provide all forms of support to enable them to reach their maximum potential. We believe that no deserving athlete should drop out on their pursuit to excellence due to any difficulties on their path and NSF will put in every ounce of their heart in trying to facilitate the right support, resource and opportunity that would help achieve the fullest potential of the athlete.