IIT Madras Admits Five National Athletes Under 'Sports Excellence Admission' Quota
New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has admitted five national athletes under its 'Sports Excellence Admission' (SEA) category for the academic year 2024-25. The institute has reserved two supernumerary seats in each of its undergraduate programmes, one of which is exclusively for female students.
The initiative aims to recognise and reward students who have excelled in sports while pursuing their higher education. The programme allows such candidates to pursue their studies while continuing to perform in sports.
The five athletes admitted under the IIT Madras sports quota admissions 2024-25 are:
- Arohi Bhave (Volleyball, Maharashtra)
- Aryaman Mandal (Water Polo and Swimming, West Bengal)
- Nandini Jain (Squash, Delhi)
- Prabhav Gupta (Table Tennis, Delhi)
- Vangala Vedavachan Reddy (Lawn Tennis, Andhra Pradesh)
Welcoming the five athletes to the institute, IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti said that the sports excellence admission is an initiative to encourage young children to play during their childhood. Professor Mahesh Panchagnula, head of the Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA), added that the programme rewards sports pursuit and excellence while maintaining a high level of academic merit.
The admission process for SEA is through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced, with candidates needing to secure a position in the Common Rank List or category-wise rank list in the JEE Advanced exam. They must have also won at least one medal in any national or international-level sports competition in the last four years.
"I think managing both sports and studies is challenging here because academics are on a whole different level," said Prabhav Gupta, table tennis champion admitted under the SEA quota. "However, I make time for both by studying whenever possible and practising table tennis daily."
The decision to introduce the sports quota aims to provide opportunities to talented athletes who excel not only in academics but also in sports. With five national athletes now part of its student community, IIT Madras continues to forge a unique combination of academic excellence and sporting prowess.