Parina Parekh has toppled boundaries and stereotypes to stand tall as a trailblazer in the World of Sports. She is the proud owner of more than 5 sports franchises across various sports, including handball, cricket, tennis, and 3×3 basketball. She is one of the few women to own a sports franchise and has achieved these milestones without any external support or backing.
As co-owner of World of Krida, she owns the Premier Handball League‘s Rajasthan Patriots and the Ultimate Table Tennis League’s Jaipur Patriots. The latest addition of the Punjab Patriots, which participates in the Tennis Premier League, to her roster further exemplifies her commitment to bringing attention to sports that often remain in the shadows. Beyond her influence in Indian sports, Parina Parekh is also the proud owner of Chicago Patriots, competing in the USPL, a prestigious cricket league in the USA.
World of Krida, a dynamic homegrown company specialising in acquiring multiple teams across different sports, under the leadership of Parina Parekh, is breaking the stereotype and proving that women can succeed in the sports ownership circles fearlessly.
She has also marked her global presence by acquiring shares in the teams competing in 3×3 basketball leagues, now an Olympic sport, in India, Thailand, Japan, and Croatia. With teams like the Mumbai Patriots, UdonThani Patriots, Tokyo Patriots, and Zagreb Patriots, they are propelling the growth of this sport on an international scale.
With a focus on promoting talent and sports at both national and international levels, World of Krida, under the dynamic leadership of Parina Parekh, is making a profound impact in the world of sports. Her dedication to bringing less popular sports to the limelight aligns perfectly with the spirit of Women’s Empowerment. Here, Parina Parekh tells TheGlitz all about her journey in the sports arena.
Over to Parina Parekh
Your journey has had many momentous milestones. Could you tell us about the life-changing milestones that have moulded you to be what you are today?
Milestones is a very strong word, but yes, I started my career with brand PR, and then I moved to be a celebrity manager; post which now I’m a celebrity agent and I also run a few sports teams.
So, being in different industries, and being in different segments has definitely moulded me into what I am. Every industry, every profession works differently and the best part is when they all collide at some point, it just works beautifully, because something that I have learned with one profession has definitely helped me with the other.
What are the setbacks you have faced? How did you tackle these setbacks or challenges? And what lesson have you learned from it?
To be honest, there have been no setbacks as such, but yes, there has been quite a lot of learning, quite a lot of processes that I learned as I took a massive switch from PR to celebrity management and now to sports while I still do the celebrity management.
And getting into sports, of course, was new, dealing with the franchise, dealing with the players, dealing with their everyday functioning. …Something that I have learned is that you believe in yourself, you believe in the people that you are working with and together as a team everything can be managed.
When you look back, what are the three qualities in you that have helped you become what you are today?
The three qualities that have helped me become what I am today would be being passionate as I feel that be it any profession if you are not passionate about what you are doing, if you are not in love with what you are doing, you will never be able to excel.
So, passion definitely comes first for me. The second would be belief because you have to believe number one in yourself, you have to believe in each and every person that you are involved with internally, whether you know it’s your partners, it’s your team or it’s an external team that comes into the picture. Belief is something that I really feel is the most important.
The third would be that you don’t give up. Sometimes when you try new things, initially you may feel that is this the right step, is this the correct decision but never giving up helps because it definitely lends you to where you belong.
So yes, never give up, be passionate and always believe in what you are doing.
Who are the people who have been the wind behind your wings?
They say that it takes an entire village to build something good and make things happen. So yes, there are people behind my wings and one of them is my husband, Shvate Kaull. Because while being partners at home, we’re also partners in work and if it wasn’t him, I probably wouldn’t have been doing what I’m doing. So he is my wind or rather he is a part of my wings.
Also, both my families, my parents’ side of the family and my in-laws… their support has been exceptional in my growth because if they had not supported me, I don’t think I would be doing what I’m doing.
So I am extremely grateful for both the families who bless me and constantly support me on every step that I take. Also, the beautiful team that I work with, whether it’s at KRI Entertainment or KRIDA. I have a bunch of super young enthusiastic professionals and they bring in a lot of confidence in me, and together we make sure that all of us perform at our best.
Lastly, if there was a quote to define you, what would it be?
Parina Parekh
I don’t know if there’s a quote to define me, but when I was a child, the first thing I would always write in any book was “I Can, I Will, and I Must!” These three words have been so much a part of me while growing up that I feel, you know, you just need to decide that you want to do something, you’re going to do something, and you’re definitely going to achieve that something.
So I say: Believe in what you’re doing and just be passionate about it because belief and passion never go wrong.
