Players like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and R Vaishali are all products of Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA). Anand is its brain, and Westbridge Capital its pocket.
Although large corporate houses like Jindal and Reliance have invested in sporting facilities, to my knowledge, no PE firm has invested like this in an academy. There are firms with stakes in major sporting teams and events, but for a company whose business model is to make money from money, backing an academy like this is pleasantly surprising.
There are several sporting legends running similar academies in their respective sports — Gopichand (badminton), Gagan Narang (shooting), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), etc. It would be so good to see them get the financial support they deserve.
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