On a four-hour-long bus journey from Mysuru to Bengaluru, which seemed much longer and ridiculously drawn out, Saksham Gogia knew he needed a change of plan. In life. He was coming back from the interview round for armed forces, his sixth attempt. "The first hour I spent feeling sorry for myself. The next three hours I dedicated myself to plan a switch to the next big thing I am passionate about, sports,” he shares. Back in school, Saksham played over ten sports — cricket, football and all of that. While he was pursuing his five-year integrated course in BBA and LLB from Symbiosis Law School, Noida, he initiated a national sports fest like no other, Aparajit 2017. So you see, deep within, the 27-year-old has always nurtured the never-back-down spirit of a sportsperson. So how can anything keep him down for four hours?
Sports, in some ways, was the answer and the question too. What was it that he could do in this 'field'? "There is a certain level of professionalism and institutionalising that has happened, but it hasn't reached the masses yet, sports is still not accessible to all," says the Hyderabad-based youngster.
So, what are the questions that arise when you think about going out to play? 'What about the team?', 'What about the venue?' and so on. In comes Lokspor incorporated in March 2019. You can book venues, equipment, enlist an empire or even participate in the tournaments they conduct! "Think of it like this, before Ola or Uber, have we ever booked a cab as we do now? Similarly, we want to make it easier for you to play," he explains.
And thus was born the neighborhood sports zone you always wanted, "The idea is that via the app, people should be able to join tournaments as per the location," says Saksham. They have already organised 11 cricket, two badminton and three football tournaments.
What Lokspor is offering is appealing to lots of corporates and youngsters as well. "When sports enthusiasts have easy access, their inclination to play goes up. So we essentially want to be an Oyo for sports," explains the youngster.
With his friend Mohd Hussain, who comes with a stockpile of operational experience gathered by helping run his family business, by his side and an angel investor who pumped the start-up with eight lakh rupees, Lokspor was all game. Within the first six months, Lokspor crossed 15 to 16 lakh in revenue and though yes, the pandemic has been tough, they have an app launching next month and their third sports grounds opening in Kothapet, Dilsukhnagar.
Infrastructure is a very important vertical. The first centre came up in June 2020 at Nagaram in ECIL called the Lokspor Singh Cricket Ground, a full-size cricket ground with floodlights, natural pitches and a pavilion on a three-acre ground. The second one is called Lokspor Arena @ Spin on 100 Feet Road which is 5,500 square feet in the very heart of Madhapur. There is a mini-sized football turf, white sand beach volleyball and, believe us, we can go on and on. One can easily guess what we can expect from their third facility.
They have partnered with 55 already existing facilities which can be booked via their upcoming app. A lot of soul-searching is what got Saksham to arrive at this solution so that we don't have to hunt for options when we have to play. So, shall we let the games begin?
For more on them check out lokspor.com
