Sport is helping Wales strengthen its relationship with India, creating opportunities to promote the nation internationally while supporting connections across education, business and culture.
Hoci Cymru visited Hyderabad for the World Cup Qualifiers earlier this year. A St David’s Day reception was held for them, in partnership with Global Wales and the British Deputy High Commission (BDHC) on the eve of their big match against India.
Individually the team are impressive - from Olympians to lecturers - but as a unit they're a formidable team. The event was an opportunity to thank the team for being such powerful ambassadors for Wales. Welsh flags were fluttering around the stadium and children in the stands were hitting Google to learn about our nation.
Off the pitch, the team kindly took time out of their training to give a skills session for 50 children from a local school (and in the scorching heat!). With support from Welsh sports retailer, Net World Sports, the team donated some equipment to the school. A special moment for all involved.
The State of Telangana shares a lot of educational connections with Wales with partnerships through Global Wales, many Welsh universities and colleges as well as a strong alumni community.
With Global Wales and BDHC, over 50 advisors had a session to learn about Wales and the education offer and we had alumni from pretty much all universities attending the reception.
The events showed that Wales and India are friends in the classroom, in business, and on the pitch. When our athletes compete internationally, they don't just play a game - they put Wales on the map and help us build lasting global partnerships (...and even get some local fans to chant "Waaaales").
Thanks, diolch to everyone who came together to make this happen; Hoci Cymru, players, Global Wales and the BDHC.
Visits such as these demonstrate how Welsh teams can help raise Wales' profile overseas while building connections that extend far beyond the sporting arena.
Author
Eoghan O'Regan
Head of India for the Welsh Government, overseeing teams across Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai. He works to strengthen Wales and India relations through trade, investment, education, research and international partnerships.