Virender Sehwag’s ‘Umeed’: ‘13 Khiladi. Sapna ek.’

Virender Sehwag is set to launch his hopes and the nations’ hope from thirteen athletes who all have just one dream of bringing glory to themselves and their nation in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The ace cricketer has don a new role for an upcoming show which will be aired on the Epic Channel from July 20, 2017.

Sehwag launched the show named ‘Umeed India’ in which he is trying his first-ever stint as a show host. The official announcement for the same was made at St. Regis, Mumbai on Tuesday.

Virender Sehwag revealing his reason for becoming a host said in his inimitable style, “Jo athlete mehnat karta hai, desh ke liye medal laane ki poori koshish karta hain, Olympic ke pehle; uski joh life aur struggle hoti hai; jitni sacrifice hoti hai uss mukam tak pahauchne ke liye, kin kin mushkilo ka samna krna padta hai, uss se mai inspired hoon.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Aditya Pittie, Director, EPIC Channel said,”EPIC Channel has consistently provided content that is unique, informative yet entertaining. By elevating our proposition to be an India-centric, Hindi language infotainment channel earlier this year, we promised to bring real stories of real Indians and our series ‘Umeed India’ stands as a fine example. With Umeed India, we are providing a national platform, a national voice to sportspeople of India. With Virender Sehwag on board, I am confident the show will not only serve as a window to the lives of existing champions, but also inspire many budding sportspersons in the country to rise up as future champions.”

The series will highlight the journey of the country’s top athletes divided into 13-parts. TVC campaign for the same shows Duttee Chand, Vinesh Phogat, Rio Olympic medallist Sakshi Mallick, OP Karahana, Suyash Jadhav, Dattu Bhokanal and Avatar singh along with the ace cricketer. They all can be seen training hard and Sehwag trying to motivate them. The series looks to explore the lifestyle of these athletes and few others too.

The show will see the former cricketer travelling to the training base, capturing exciting moments in the home environment besides interviewing the athletes’ families and coaching staff. The player will also be shown interacting with the respective national federations and government agencies and talk about their plans to prepare top athletes.

Sehwag presence is bound to add a new dimension to the show. Like his batting, the Nawab of Najafgarh has added entertainment and value quotient to everything he has done. Be it his School, where education and sports curriculum go hand in hand; or cricket commentary where he makes live cricket livelier with his witty one-liners or the art of 140 words on Twitter.