Sports diplomacy is an under-utilised instrument of India's soft power. Examine with reference to India's BRICS Chairship initiatives in 2026.

Sports diplomacy uses sport to build goodwill between peoples and states, and it is a low-cost tool of soft power. India's 2026 BRICS Chairship gave sport unusual prominence. However, the effort is still built around single events and not lasting institutions, which is why the tool remains under-utilised.

Chairship 2026: sport on the BRICS agenda

• Agenda-setting: the BRICS Sports Joint Declaration was adopted by consensus at Visakhapatnam in August 2026. India proposed a Working Group on Sports Technology, a Sports Manufacturing Conclave at Udaipur and the Demonstration Games [2].
• Cultural showcase: the non-competitive Traditional and Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games in Ahmedabad (12 October 2026) host 11 member and partner countries. India's entries are Mallakhamb, Yogasana and Kalaripayattu [1].
• Bilateral channel: side meetings on sports cooperation are held with visiting delegations [1].

Why the instrument remains under-utilised

• Event over ecosystem: the Games are a one-day showcase. No recurring series or public archive has been announced, so the stated aim of "documentation" may lapse [1].
• Famous over endangered: Mallakhamb and Kalaripayattu already receive Khelo India support [3]. No tribal game was shown, so the event looks more like national branding than heritage protection.
• Symbolism gap: Dr. Mandaviya himself urged BRICS to move beyond symbolic declarations to athlete exchanges and joint competitions [2].
• Global models unused: UNESCO's Open Digital Library on Traditional Games (running since 2015) and the two Koreas' joint Ssirum inscription show how games can build lasting ties [4].

Way forward

• Publish the Ahmedabad recordings as an open archive in several languages, following the Open Digital Library model [4].
• Send lesser-known forms such as Thang-Ta and Gatka through Khelo India's rural and indigenous games component [3].
• Align the BRICS sports track with UNESCO's Kazan Action Plan (MINEPS VI, 2017), which links sport policy to the 2030 Agenda [5].
• Make the Games a regular BRICS fixture and support joint UNESCO nominations for shared games such as Gorodki (Russia and Belarus) [1].

India's Chairship shows that it can set the BRICS sporting agenda. Turning that visibility into durable soft power needs continuity, room for endangered forms and institutional follow-up. If anchored in the Kazan framework and SDG commitments, sustained sports diplomacy can carry India's Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ethos far beyond a single stadium.