Early talent identification and structured mentorship create world champions. Discuss in the context of India's sports ecosystem.

Early talent identification means spotting ability in childhood. Structured mentorship means backing that child for years with coaching, schooling and funding. Together they form a pipeline that produces champions. India has built the first half through Khelo India and KIRTI, but gaps in the second half mean selection alone does not yet produce podium finishes.

How identification and mentorship create champions

• A wide net: KIRTI screens children aged 9–18. Its first phase logged 3,62,683 registrations [3].
• The right age: The 2025 Standing Committee urged identification at ages 10–15 in sports where India has medal potential [2].
• Long-term grooming: SAI's 24 National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) are meant to give selected athletes elite coaching over several years [2].

Gaps in India's ecosystem

• High dropout rate: Of 1,518 players selected in 2018-19, only 625 joined academies and 893 dropped out [1].
• Sport vs school: The 2019 Committee found that the main reason for dropouts was lack of integrated education [1]. In 2025, NCOEs still lacked combined residential and educational facilities [2].
• Opaque selection: Talent identification was complex and lengthy, with a risk of favouritism and regionalism [1].
• Regional inequity: Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha received no infrastructure grants [1]. A child's chances partly depend on where they live.
• Too few mentors: 544 of 1,524 coaching posts were vacant [1]. About 45% of SAI's sanctioned posts are empty and are covered by contract staff [2].
• Underspending: Only Rs 324 crore of Rs 520 crore was spent in 2018-19 [1].

Way forward

• Residential-cum-educational academies so that families do not have to choose between a child's studies and sport [2].
• Single-window selection to make trials transparent and fair [1].
• Fill SAI vacancies within six months. Examine making SAI a statutory body [2].
• A state sports index to reward states that nurture talent [2]. Athletes should be judged over several seasons, not on one result.

Spotting talent early widens the pool. Only sustained, education-friendly mentorship turns that talent into champions. If India funds the early years, keeps young athletes in school and trains enough coaches, Khelo India's large intake can become a steady supply of world-class performers. This would also advance SDG 3 (good health) and SDG 4 (quality education).