Sporting greats stress need for serious talent-hunt in grassroots, in preparation for Olympics 2036

Bengaluru: Double Olympic medalist PR Sreejesh has stressed the need for grassroots investment and talent identification while outlining what India must do to build a stronger Olympic future at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, Powered By Leaders.

“Exposure is the key. Getting into the world level and performing from there is the dream,” he said. “What makes the Olympics unique is the mental pressure. Preparing athletes to be equipped to perform at that level is most important.” 

He noted that young athletes today have real examples of Indian success on the global stage, which can help them believe in their potential.

“When we started playing, we always heard about the history of the sport. Now, we can realistically show young children that we can achieve at the global stage. When I work with U21 players at Hockey India, I want them to believe that they too can achieve success,” he further added. 

Pointing out that while India has depth at the national level, the grassroots system still needs attention, Sreejesh opined, “We have room to improve in talent identification. At the nursery level, at grassroots, there’s a lot to work on. That’s where the investment needs to go in,” he said.

“If we are speaking about the 2036 Olympics, now is when we need to tap into the talent between the age groups of 12-14 years.” 

Beyond medals, Sreejesh called for a broader sports culture in India.“We need to introduce sports culture into our system. That’s important, not just to win medals but for overall health and well-being. The younger generation is very focused on medals, which is great, but we also need to build a foundation that sustains their journey in sports,” he remarked.

The first day of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit was a big success, bringing together key stakeholders across global sports as they shared valuable insights towards making India a Sports-Forward nation and the country’s ability to host the 2036 Olympics.

To begin the day’s proceedings, former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik, in conversation with Mo Bobat, Director of Cricket at RCB, and former England cricketer Isa Guha, lauded the Indian cricket team’s mindset and credited the IPL for instilling a winning approach in players while strengthening infrastructure. 

In another panel, Sarah Walsh, Head of Women’s Football, Football Australia, and Moya Dodd, a sports and governance expert, discussed the growth prospects of Indian women’s football and the broader pathway for women’s sports in India leading up to 2036. 

The summit also featured insights from a distinguished lineup of speakers, including Aditya Aditya, (Head of Media Business Strategy & Intelligence at the International Olympic Committee), Michele Ciccarese (Commercial and Marketing Director, Serie A), Darren Henry (Chief Commercial Officer, British Cycling), Chloe Targett-Adams (Chief Commercialization Officer, Surj), Jalaj, and Vital Dani (Asian Paints and Dani Sports Foundation), Nandan Kamath (Sports and Society Accelerator – the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit Powered by Leaders’ Knowledge Partner), and Hina Nagarajan (Diageo India). 

The second edition of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit Powered by Leaders in Bengaluru was held at the Padukone Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence on 14 and 15 March.