The company said it is focused on developing youth sports in the country, bolstering India’s dream of winning more Olympic medals and will be a ‘powered by’ sponsor for the event.

The firm provides statistics and data to players in competitions for coaches to understand their strengths and weaknesses. It was a partner of the Indian Olympic Association for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Commonwealth Games 2022 & Asian Games 2022.

Khelo India is a programme introduced by the government to build a framework for all sports played at the grassroots in India. It has been divided into twelve different verticals which include developing state level Khelo India centres, talent identification and development, sports for women, promotion of sports amongst people with disabilities and much more. The upcoming fifth edition of the games will be held in Madhya Pradesh starting at the end of this month.

Rishikesh Joshi, founder of SFA said: “Through this association, we will be fully focused on bringing all key stakeholders of sports together for a trustworthy, transparent and seamless growth of grassroots experience.” The firm, he said, also aims to reach 20 states and 15 lakh children in the next three years through its championships.

A Sports Authority of India (SAI) spokesperson said: “We are happy to have them as a ‘Powered By’ sponsor of KIYG2023. SFA’s work in sports, aligns with the larger vision of the government to identify and nurture grassroot level sporting talent. Khelo India Youth Games being the largest platform for multisport competition for young athletes in the country is the right platform for this association.”

According to one report by GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports and sports division of GroupM India, the size of the Indian sports industry was estimated to have surpassed ₹9,500 crore in 2021, it said in its report, ‘Sporting Nation in The Making’.

Star Sports has bagged the broadcast rights of the Sports Ministry’s flagship Khelo India School Games (KISG) for a period of five years from 2018 to 2022 and had put aside ₹50 crore for the spends.