From L to R: Girish Kekre, Satish Thakkar, Nav Bhatia, Anil Shah & Pankaj Dave
BY STAFF REPORTER
TORONTO: The Toronto Raptors Superfan, Nav Bhatia, will be the 2020 recipient of the prestigious Canada India Foundation Annual Global Indian Award.
Making this announcement, Mr. Anil Shah, Chair, Canada India Foundation, said, “The Board of Governors of our Foundation unanimously decided to honour Mr. Bhatia for his tremendous contribution to redefining the Indian identity by making it relatable to the global youth culture that emphasizes the universality of human experience exemplified through sports.”
Bhatia will be presented with the Award at a glittering Annual Global Indian Award Gala to be held on July 10 this year at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton. Over 700 invited guests comprising the who’s who of the Canadian establishment are expected to attend.
Bhatia, who is a Canadian entrepreneur, has been globally recognized for his devotion to the Toronto Raptors basketball team. He has not missed a single game that his team has played in the last 25 years. In 2020, he is honoured by the Basketball Hall of Fame, becoming one of the first fans memorialized in its new Superfan gallery.
In 2018, the entrepreneur founded the Nav Bhatia Superfan Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to raising funds to build basketball courts and camps for kids at home and abroad. He is also actively engaged with other charities such as Daughters of India and World Vision.
The CIF Annual Global Indian Award is the first award of its kind outside India, it recognizes a prominent achiever who has demonstrated global leadership, vision and personal excellence. The recipient receives CA$50,000 to be donated to a charity of his choice.
CIF has previously honoured the following achievers:
- Sam Pitroda (2008), the architect of India’s telecommunication revolution
- Tulsi Tanti (2009), the entrepreneur who transformed India’s energy sector
- Ratan Tata (2010), the iconic head of one of India’s largest business houses
- Deepak Chopra (2012), the mindfulness and wellness guru
- NR Narayana Murthy (2014), the man who turned India into a software powerhouse
- Subhash Chandra (2016), the entrepreneur who revolutionised India’s television
- Swami Ramdev (2017), the yoga teacher who awakened India to Ayurveda medicine
- Sparsh Shah (2018), a child prodigy
- Stephen Harper (2019), Canada’s PM who underscored India’s global significance
