Sportstar Focus Bihar Conclave | India is progressing, but so is everybody else: Joydeep

Explore insights from the Sportstar Focus Bihar Conclave on India's sports progress and challenges in a competitive global landscape.

From India’s Olympic ambition as a potential host to sports goods manufacturing in the country, the Sportstar Sports Conclave Focus Bihar at the Taj City Centre here on Sunday dealt with a wide range of issues.

“Kids today are taking up skating, sport climbing, football, and all the other new sports. But traditional sports continue to get a lot of focus and attention. We need to build a balance and see if the sports will be played over a period of time for the money being put in,” Deepthi Bopaiah, Board Member at GoSports Foundation, said during a discussion titled, The Host Nation Effect: Why Olympic hosts outperform and can India do it too.

Joydeep Karmakar, Commonwealth Games gold medallist, acknowledged India’s rapid strides in sports, but demanded focus on the rate of improvement.

“There is a chance of a 25 to 50% increase in medals as a host. Even if we go by a 25-50% rise, India will still win only 17 to 18 medals. There is no doubt that India is progressing, but everybody else also is,” Joydeep said.

While a successful Olympic bid could galvanise India’s sports manufacturing industry, there are several challenges still to be overcome.

Lakshita Mehrotra, Senior Team Lead at Foundation for Economic Development, highlighted these challenges, including cost disadvantages and a lack of visibility for Indian brands.