Brands
ASICS India onboards Hockey star Manpreet Singh as brand athlete
Mumbai: ASICS, the renowned Japanese sports performance brand, proudly announces the newest addition of Indian hockey sensation Manpreet Singh to its esteemed roster of brand athletes. With a shared commitment of the brand’s value, ASICS India is delighted to align with Manpreet Singh, a defender and the former captain of the Indian Men’s Hockey team.
ASICS’ brand philosophy, “sound mind, sound body,” emphasizes the need to maintain a perfect balance between mental and physical well-being. The brand envisions to not only supporting but also encouraging the young talent of the country to achieve new heights and set benchmarks. Following the brand’s direction and ideation, ASICS India is onboarding Manpreet Singh as its newest brand athlete, considering his vision and dedication towards both sports and life aligns seamlessly with the brand philosophy.
Manpreet Singh Pawar, one of India’s most celebrated hockey icons, has achieved remarkable success in his career. Under his leadership, India also won a Bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games, Silver medal at the Champions Trophy and Gold medal at the Asian Champions Trophy. He led the team to earn a Bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, ending India’s 41-year wait for an Olympic medal in hockey. Singh has also been recognized for his individual achievements with the Arjuna Award and the FIH Player of the Year Award.
ASICS India and South Asia MD Rajat Khurana,” We are delighted to announce ASICS India’s association with Manpreet Singh as our newest brand athlete. We are glad to share that Manpreet stands as India’s most revered Hockey icons and his inspirational journey shines as a guiding light for young athletes nationwide, perfectly embodying our brand philosophy of ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body. Together, we look forward to inspiring individuals across the nation to embrace a holistic approach of well-being, where mental and physical health go hand in hand. We are confident that this association will help us inspire more people to achieve their fitness goals.”
Talking about this collaboration Singh commented, “As an athlete, my journey has been defined by unwavering commitment, teamwork and the pursuit of excellence. Joining hands with ASICS, a brand that shares my belief in the synergy of a ‘sound mind and a sound body’, is an exciting new chapter in my career. I am honored to be part of a brand that not only supports athletes but also encourages holistic well-being. Together, we aim to inspire and empower individuals to strive for their best, both on and off the field. I look forward to this incredible partnership and the journey ahead as we continue to champion the values of sportsmanship, resilience and balance.”
As part of this association, Manpreet will wear ASICS apparel and footwear during his training and competitions. Last month ASICS India announced the onboarding of tennis star Sumit Nagal as well.
Brands
Samsung certifies 1,000 Maharashtra students in AI and coding
The South Korean electronics giant marks its first large-scale skilling push in the state, with women making up nearly half the national programme’s enrolment
PUNE: Samsung has put 1,000 students in Maharashtra through a certified training programme in artificial intelligence and coding, the largest such drive the South Korean electronics company has run in the state and a signal that corporate India’s skilling ambitions are moving well beyond the boardroom brochure.
The certifications were awarded under Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility programme, which launched in India in 2022 with the stated aim of democratising access to future-technology education. The 1,000 graduates were drawn from four institutions: 127 from Savitribai Phule Pune University, 373 from Pimpri Chinchwad University, 250 from D.Y. Patil University’s Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and 250 from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Kalsekar Technical Campus. All completed training in either AI or coding and programming, the two disciplines Samsung has identified as the critical pillars of the digital economy.
The programme does not stop at technical training. Soft-skills development and career-readiness modules are baked into the curriculum, a deliberate attempt to close the gap between what universities teach and what employers actually want.
“India’s digital growth story will ultimately be shaped by the quality of its talent pipeline,” said Shubham Mukherjee, head of CSR and corporate communications at Samsung Southwest Asia. “As technologies like AI move from the periphery to the core of industries, skilling must evolve from basic training to building real-world capability. This milestone in Maharashtra reflects how industry and academia can come together to create a future-ready workforce that is both globally competitive and locally relevant.”
The Maharashtra drive sits within a rapidly scaling national effort. Samsung Innovation Campus trained 20,000 young people across India in 2025, hitting its stated target for the year. Women account for 48 per cent of national enrolments, a figure the company cites as evidence of its push for an inclusive technology ecosystem. The programme is implemented in partnership with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and the Telecom Sector Skill Council.
Samsung, which is marking 30 years in India this year, runs SIC alongside two other initiatives, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung DOST, as part of a broader effort to build what it calls a generation of innovators with both the technical depth and the problem-solving mindset to thrive in a fast-moving digital world.
A thousand certified students is a tidy headline. Whether they find jobs that match their new skills is the harder question, and the one that will ultimately determine whether corporate skilling programmes like this one are genuine pipelines or well-photographed gestures.
