To Become a Sporting Powerhouse, We Must Make Sports a People’s Movement

Bhubaneswar: Turning fitness into a national habit

Two‑time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu emphasizes that India’s journey to global sporting excellence hinges on embedding sports in everyday life—not just elite training. She argues that unless sports become interwoven with community culture, support from parents, fans, and sponsors will remain limited .

Expanding access for all

Sindhu applauds the Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 for prioritizing sports infrastructure across socio‑economic and geographic lines. She notes the initiative ensures that “people of all age groups, and from different economic strata and regions, can take up sport as a regular activity” .

Building community & corporate momentum

The article highlights community‑focused strategies—such as family sporting events like the “Sundays on Cycle” initiative by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya—as effective tools for mass engagement. Instituting fitness rankings for schools, businesses, and government institutions could further motivate participation .

From fitness to economic and national strength

Sindhu links a healthy population to economic growth, noting that active citizens drive GDP and contribute to India’s rise as the world’s third‑largest economy. She invokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Fit India Movement and his call to “fight obesity by reducing oil consumption by 10 percent and including exercise in daily life” as pivotal shifts in public mindset .

Grassroots support: the foundation of sporting success

Sindhu reflects on her own childhood, highlighting the sacrifices her athletic father made to support her career. She stresses that strong grassroots support—where parents view sports as legitimate career paths—is essential for cultivating future champions .

Way forward: mass participation, policy, infrastructure

Sindhu sums up the path to a sporting superpower:

Popularizing sports at the household and community levels

Investing in infrastructure in urban and rural areas

Fostering institutional involvement, such as fitness rankings and corporate-sponsored events

Mobilizing government initiatives like Fit India and Khelo Bharat Niti.

Only by making sport a mass movement, she concludes, can India consistently identify talent, sell out stadiums, draw sponsorship, and ultimately claim its place on the global stage .

PV Sindhu’s call:

Let sports grow beyond stadiums and medals—into the everyday lives of all Indians.

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