By Raspreet Sidhu, Former Captain, Indian Women's Basketball Team, Head of Sports, Shiv Nadar School

India is celebrating sporting success like never before, from Olympic medal winners to cricket superstars and emerging leagues in football, kabaddi, and basketball. Sport has become a national conversation. However, beneath these achievements lies a hard reality: that only a small percentage of Indian children regularly participate in sports. If we aspire to create our own NBA-style sporting ecosystem in India, we must begin with schools, playgrounds, and a culture that encourages every child to play.

Mass participation is the foundation of every great sporting nation. Countries with thriving sports cultures create ecosystems that inspire and enable millions of children to engage in sports from an early age. The larger the participation base, the greater the chances of producing excellence. More importantly, it builds a society that values fitness, teamwork, discipline, and resilience.

The real starting point for this transformation is the school playground where children first discover movement and competition. Unfortunately, in many Indian schools, sports remain secondary to academics; playgrounds are shrinking; sports periods are often replaced with extra classes; and participation is limited to a select group of students. A change in this mindset is required. Regardless of skill level, every child must have access to structured sports opportunities.

Beyond the game

Not every child who plays sports needs to become a professional athlete. Sports have a much larger purpose. At the school level, sports becomes one of the earliest classrooms for life itself.

Children learn discipline, teamwork, respect, leadership, accountability, and the importance of consistent effort. When they win and lose they learn resilience, grit, emotional control, humility, and how to respond to setbacks positively. Sports also develop communication skills, decision-making under pressure, collaboration and the ability to work with people from different backgrounds. These are qualities that remain valuable long after school, whether in careers, relationships, or personal growth. 

In an age where stress, anxiety, and screen addiction are rapidly increasing among young people, sports also help with well-being. Active children are physically healthier, mentally stronger, and socially more connected.

An ideal sports ecosystem

When looking at global benchmarks, the NBA provides a masterful blueprint for a ground-up ecosystem.

The NBA did not become a global powerhouse by broadcasting games alone; it did so by putting basketballs in kids' hands through grassroots programs like the Jr. NBA and by building a complete ecosystem.

India needs a similar grassroots engine. This means creating structured, localised youth leagues, certifying local coaches, and building accessible, multi-sport community courts. By creating a wide base of the pyramid where millions of kids play casually, a high-quality elite tier will emerge naturally.

From grassroots to greatness

It begins at the grassroots, where mass participation is encouraged, and every child plays. Up next are the school and district leagues, moving on to College and University Scouting, youth development programs, resulting in Elite Professional leagues (IPL, ISL, etc). 

All this is complemented by creating and nurturing coaching pathways, fan engagement, and media storytelling, which beautifully builds into the sports culture. Basketball in the United States thrives because the system continuously feeds participation at every level.

 If we want to build strong and sustainable sporting ecosystems in India, it is important for us to ensure that girls are equally encouraged and supported in their athletic journeys. While we observe that participation levels among girls often decline during adolescence due to a variety of social and environmental factors, schools and communities have an opportunity to create more inclusive, accessible, supportive and empowering sporting environments. 

A great emphasis needs to be placed on infrastructure, mentorship, and participation pathways for girls which will contribute significantly to the overall growth of sports in the country. A truly progressive sporting culture is one that enables every child, regardless of gender, to participate and benefit from the positive impact of sports.

Building a lasting sporting culture

Over the next decade, schools and colleges will need to play the most important role in shaping India’s sporting future. For that to happen, educational institutions must recognise sports as an essential part of holistic education. We need investment in facilities, trained coaches, regular competitions, and sporting pathways to create a generation that sees sports as an integral part of everyday life.

For an NBA-style league to emerge in India, the country must first build the culture that makes such a league sustainable and meaningful. The future of Indian sport will be defined by how successfully we encourage and inspire every child to step onto a playground, discover the value of sport, and carry that culture forward into society.