A new basketball court built with the support of BookAChange (a Book My Show Foundation initiative) and a basketball court refurbished with the support of Hi 5 Youth Foundation, Mumbai were inaugurated on 25 Apr 2026 at Sevalaya’s Kasuva centre near Thiruninravur, Tiruvallur.
Vasudevan Baskaran – Arjuna Awardee, Padma Shri Awardee and Olympic Gold Medallist Captain, Indian Hockey Team (1980 Moscow Olympics) graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Anshul Jain, Head – Operations, Hi 5 Youth Foundation, A Arul Venkatesh – Joint Secretary of Tamil Nadu Basketball Federation and Secretary of Tiruvallur district Basketball Federation and A V Rajkumar – Treasurer, Tiruvallur district Basketball Federation also participated in the event.
The project has been completed at a total cost of around ₹36 Lakhs. These two courts will benefit around 247 students from Std III to Std XII. Hi 5 Youth Foundation provides free basketball coaching, sports gear and tournament exposure to Sevalaya students. Speaking at the event, Mr. Baskaran stated, “As students, irrespective of your financial status, you must utilise whatever talents you possess to progress in life. You must excel in both academics and sports.
You must also learn many languages to be able to play and thrive as opportunities arise across the world. Students, your parents and Sevalaya Muralidharan should all come together like three sides of a triangle to succeed. He thanked the parents for theirnpresence and expressed his wish to continue his association with Sevalaya.
In his address, Anshul Jain remarked, “At Sevalaya, education and sports are provided to students on an equal footing. Make proper use of the facilities available, play for our nation and lead lives of excellence.” He concluded by expressing his gratitude to both BookMyShow and Sevalaya. Arul Venkatesh in his speech congratulated the students and wished them the very best in their future endeavours. Rajkumar in his speech said, “Vasudevan Baskaran is a man who came from a humble family and achieved greatness. As students, you too, must set a specific goal for yourselves- work hard towards that goal and succeed. Play exceptionally well, and bring honour and glory to Sevalaya, Hi5, and our beloved nation.”
Earlier, delivering the welcome address, Sevalaya Muralidharan stated: “Every year during the summer holidays, Sevalaya conducts various programs such as spoken English classes, basic computer training and sports camps. We felt that this would be an opportune moment to inaugurate our basketball court. We felt inviting an Olympic gold medalist as our Chief Guest
would inspire our students to aspire to win gold medals for our country as well – so we invited Vasudevan Baskaran to grace this occasion as our Chief Guest.”
An exhibition match between Sevalaya students took place in the new court. The Chief Guest enthusiastically participated in the game and interacted with the students and parents. Students presented engaging cultural performances. Navin Kumar N, AVP – Donor Relations, Sevalaya delivered the Vote of Thanks. A memento was presented to the Chief Guest.
