Krushnaa Patil is a mountaineer, entrepreneur, and artist known for her trailblazing achievements in adventure sports. She made history as the youngest Indian woman to summit Mount Everest at the age of 19.
Krushnaa is also the first Indian woman to conquer iconic peaks such as Mount Elbrus in Europe, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Aconcagua in South America. Demonstrating her adventurous spirit beyond mountaineering, she participated in a remarkable 3,000 km cycling rally from Kolkata to Kanyakumari with WANI (Women Adventure Network of India).
Her diverse experiences extend to scuba diving, rafting, and parasailing. Krushnaa has also participated in extreme adventure events like the Extreme Trails Nissan X-Trail Driving Rally for National Geographic and Wipeout India.
Recognized for her achievements, Krushnaa has been honoured with prestigious awards including the Rotary International Award, the Today’s Youth Asia Award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Award.
She is the director of Yellow Frog Adventures, a company committed to the sustainable development of mountain communities and promoting mountaineering. Additionally, she channels her creative energy as the owner and chef at Books and Bricks Café in Kashmir, a warm and inviting space that blends food, books, and community engagement.
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Sandhya is an internationally rated chess player who completed her MCA from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Anantapur. In the span of a few years, Sandhya has already been awarded the Silver medal in the 2015 Women’s World Amateur Chess Championship (Greece), 3rd place in the 2015 Women’s World Open Chess Tournament (USA), Mixed Doubles First place in the 2014 World Open Chess Tournament and Millionaire Chess open (USA), Gold medal in Sri Lanka Open (Women’s) Chess Championship.
Sandya aspires to be the Women’s World Chess Champion and is now focusing on improving her ratings. Her current rating is 1929 and she is very close to being defined as a Woman Grand Master
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Sharath M. Gayakwad is an Indian Paralympic swimmer who has over 30 international and 40 national medals to his credit, one of them being a bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Para Games. Sharath is also the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the Paralympics and competed in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. At the 2014 Asian Games, he broke P.T. Usha’s record for most number of medals by an Indian at any multi-discipline event by winning 6 medals.
Somdev is a former professional tennis player, who started his career playing tennis in the NCAA, representing the University of Virginia. He made it to three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals in junior and senior years. His 44-1 win-loss record in 2008 is tied for the best in NCAA history.
In 2011, he received the Arjuna Award from the Indian Government. In March 2017, he was appointed as the national observer for tennis by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
When Somdev hit stardom in 2009, he had a dream of starting a movement to create a healthier and happier India through sport. Life is a ball, his initiative positively impacts 15000+ kids through sports programs. Among all the accomplishments, providing a sporting platform to underprivileged kids has been the greatest.
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