The last decade has quietly redrawn the contours of Indian sport. Two Olympic cycles — Tokyo’s seven medals and six from Paris — reaffirmed that Indian athletes, across disciplines, can now compete against the best on the world stage. Para athletes, too, have commanded the nation’s attention — 19 medals in Tokyo and 29 in Paris redefined boundaries once thought impossible. Fresh heroes have emerged elsewhere as well. D. Gukesh and Divya Deshmukh have captured world chess crowns, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have reached the pinnacle of men’s doubles badminton. The rise of franchise leagues in kabaddi, kho-kho, football, hockey, and beyond signals that India’s sporting story is no longer a single-sport saga. Taken together, these milestones suggest a sporting economy on the cusp of something larger, but only if the foundations are truly strengthened.
Equally telling is the rise of the athlete economy. A para athlete earning a seven-figure medal bonus, women’s hockey players and boxers signing multi-year contracts with global brands, are signals of recognition and reward expanding into new spaces. Sport in India, for too long dominated by a single discipline, is finally becoming a more viable livelihood for many.
Franchise leagues are drawing in new capital and audiences, and the Union government has done its bit through Khelo India and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme to support budding and elite athletes. The recently passed Sports Governance Bill holds out the promise of reform and transparency — long absent from India’s National Sports Federations. States, too, are beginning to invest, and corporates have started to take notice, though CSR spending on sport still accounts for less than two per cent.
Much of this gap, in recent years, has been bridged by fantasy and real-money gaming platforms, which were significant sponsors of non-cricket tournaments and State leagues. But with a ban now in place, that stream has vanished overnight, exposing once again just how fragile India’s sports economy really is. Without a broader base — more industries investing, more States committing, and more citizens participating — growth will continue to remain uneven and vulnerable.
India cannot build a resilient sporting economy without widening the base of participation. Grassroots development is the foundation. While mega stadiums may serve ambition, progress begins with everyday access — football grounds in village schools, hockey turfs in district centres, badminton courts in municipal halls. If every block, panchayat, and municipality offered children a field of play, the pyramid would naturally broaden.
A “Right to Play”, much like the Right to Education, can turn participation into performance, and performance into economic strength. It would not only democratise access to sport but also create a larger talent pool, healthier citizens, and a deeper fan economy. A child picking up a racket in Coorg, or a javelin in Sonipat, should have as much of a chance to grow as a cricketer in Mumbai. That breadth of participation is what will, in time, swell the ranks of elite athletes and create sustainable demand for leagues, media, and sponsorships.
In the end, the economics will follow the opportunity. Once sport is embedded in everyday Indian life, the sporting economy will grow not through subsidies or one-off windfalls but through organic demand. It will then be a self-sustaining cycle of participation, performance, and prosperity.
Published on Sep 09, 2025
