Future of sports management: Stupa Sports, and adaptability

Megha Gambhir is the Founder and CEO of Stupa Sports, one of India's most successful sports technology companies, making global headlines right now.

- MOHUL BHATTACHARYA

Stupa has just announced two major international partnerships; becoming the Official Competition Management Partner for Swiss Tennis (for padel events across Switzerland), signing as the Exclusive Data & Technology Partner for the Pickleball Champions League Asia Finals 2025 in Shenzhen These deals position Stupa as one of the very few Indian sports-tech firms building a global footprint across Europe and Asia, with deployments spanning volleyball, badminton, table tennis, padel, and now pickleball.

Megha Gambhir sat down with The Statesman for an exclusive conversation about the Indian sports ecosystem.

How do you see the future of India in sports on the global map?

I genuinely believe India is entering one of its most decisive decades in sport. We have always had the talent, the ambition and the sheer population strength to make a global impact, but what was missing earlier was a strong, supportive ecosystem around our athletes. Over the last several years, that has finally started to change.

Today, we're seeing rapid improvements in technology adoption, coaching standards, sports science, competitive leagues, and infrastructure. There is tremendous activity with startups building sports-tech solutions, new academies coming up, federations experimenting with structured pathways, and an overall mindset shift towards professionalism.

The next big leap for India will come from data-driven training and truly structured grassroots programmes. If we can capture athlete data from the very beginning, use it intelligently for development, and create clear pathways for progression, as we see in the US, Europe or Australia, we will unlock a completely new level of performance. This also builds confidence among parents and young athletes, because they start seeing sport as a viable, well-supported career.