Sporting achievements are an instrument of a nation's soft power. Discuss with reference to India's recent performances in international events.

Soft power is a nation's ability to influence others through attraction rather than coercion. Sport is one of its most visible carriers, because a podium in a globally watched event projects talent, discipline and national confidence. India's recent results in chess, cricket and kho-kho show both the potential of sport as soft power and its limits.

How sporting success builds India's soft power

• A reputation for excellence: D. Gukesh became the youngest World Chess Champion in 2024, and India won double gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest [1]. India also reached the podium in both sections at the 2026 Samarkand Olympiad, which shows consistency and not a one-off result.
• An inclusive national image: Divya Deshmukh became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, beating another Indian in the final [2]. India's women also won the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 [3].
• Cultural diplomacy through indigenous games: India's women won the Kho Kho World Cup [4]. This takes a traditional Indian game to a global audience, much as yoga's international appeal has done.
• Diaspora and hosting ambitions: Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 explicitly aims to engage the Indian diaspora through sport and to prepare a bid for the 2036 Olympics [5].
• State backing adds credibility: Khelo India, TOPS (2014) and KIRTI find and fund talent, and TOPS supported India's medal campaigns at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 [1].

Limits of sport as soft power

• Staying on top: India won both golds in Budapest but neither section at Samarkand. Soft power depends on consistency, not isolated peaks.
• Thin depth: only 4 of India's 88 Grandmasters are women [2]. India's Olympic medal tally is still modest for its population.
• Conversion gap: sporting prestige does not automatically become diplomatic influence. It needs to be paired with cultural and economic outreach.
• Olympic-focused support: TOPS is built around Olympic medals [1], so non-Olympic sports such as chess receive less systematic support.

India's sporting achievements have become a real instrument of soft power, projecting a young, inclusive and aspiring nation. To sustain this, India needs broad grassroots depth, gender parity and support that goes beyond Olympic disciplines, as Khelo Bharat Niti envisages [5]. Its vision of "Sports for Nation Building" [5] can then turn India's success on the field into lasting global influence.