From a compassionate teacher to a sports academy co-founder, Sandhya Rajan is transforming young lives by providing professional coaching to young players.

Sandhya Rajan is a co-founder of the Great Goals Sports Academy which has completed a journey of almost a decade. She and her co-founder are committed and dedicated to building a one-stop destination for major sports activities.

Sandhya was born and raised in a small place in Kerala called Alleppey. She has been to different parts of India like Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, etc. She holds a masters in Biochemistry with years of experience working closely with high school and elementary school kids. After her marriage, she went to the USA and gained experience with their schools and academies. After spending 11 years in America, she and her family moved back to India.

Sandhya recalls the time when she was curiously looking for a sports academy for her son who was a football enthusiast and was getting sports training in the USA. She says she faced complete disappointment with the unprofessional behaviour of sports academy professionals.

She shares her experience with USA sports academies where her son used to have the training and wanted the same professional handling here in India. So, this thought invoked Sandhya and her friend to set up a sports academy that offers professional sports training in every aspect. This is how her “Great Goals” sports academy came into shape in Chennai.

Recalling her childhood, Sandhya shares about her school which played a crucial role in her personality development. During her school days, she was motivated to participate in every activity from sports to culture, and the goal was the holistic development of every kid.

Sandhya says she tries to do the same at her academy, thus offering training to achieve holistic development of each student of her academy.

Sandhya feels happy and proud in saying how she initiated her academy with mere 15-20 students and now the number has grown up to 500 or more.

Sandhya talks about the biggest challenge she faced is developing an ecosystem of parents, players, and coaches who believed in structured professional training. Sandhya wants every parent to understand the need for better health and fitness for kids and understand the difference between an enthusiast and a professional player.  She firmly believes in inserting discipline in the academy’s structure, coaches, and other employees.

The pandemic came with a lesson for her, says Sandhya, she lacked financial planning and a plan to start the new moves.

Sandhya is proud of her journey from a teacher to an entrepreneur developing her management skills. She is overwhelmed when she sees how many lives she has touched in her journey.

Sandhya's son who is now pursuing sports management in the USA was her inspiration for launching a sports academy and her father was a constant support throughout the journey.

For the young aspirants, she suggests learning every aspect of business, keep innovating, and not to give up.She says surviving through hard times will take you to reach your goals. She adds that there is no substitute for hard work.

In her spare time, she loves to catch up with her friends, go out to movies and exercise She has also started rejuvenating herself by learning Carnatic music.