The Future Is Bright for Business of Sport in India

May 2, 2018 5:26PM IST (11:56AM GMT)

Sports and education have been gaining popularity in India for the past 5 years. With business opportunities also expanding, the sports sector is witnessing a boom. In this preview, Deakin University, Australia partnered with Rajasthan Royals for Indian Premier League 2018 for Enabling a Sporting Culture.
On 1 May 2018, at the Australian High Commission, Deakin University and Rajasthan Royals organised a special panel discussion on “Future of Business of Sport”. The panel discussion was organised with the aim to investigate, analyse and predict the key opportunities prevalent in Business of Sport in the short, medium and long-term perspective.
Guest speakers for this high-level panel discussion included H.E. Ms Harinder Sidhu, Australian High Commissioner to India, Mr Shane Warne, Mentor – Rajasthan Royals; Mr Ajinkya Rahane, Captain – Rajasthan Royals; Mr Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman – Rajasthan Royals; Ms Lisa Sthanlekar, Commentator IPL and Former Captian of Australian Women’s Cricket Team and Mr Vivek Sethia, CEO – India on Tracks and Ms Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global), Deakin University, Australia. The panel was moderated by Mr Adrian Raftery, Associate Professor at Deakin University.
Emphasising on the importance Ms Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global), Deakin University, Australia, stated, “This event is a first of its kind initiatives between an internationally ranked University and the formidable and determined Rajasthan Royals. We are here today to deliberate a very important aspect of Indian Sport – the Future of Business of Sport. Together, we are committed to the cause of Enabling a Sporting Culture and ensuring knowledge exchange and facilitation in this regard…The rise in popularity of sports and the frequent hosting of large sporting events in India provide ample business opportunities for corporates.”
While expressing the strategic importance of Australia and India relation, Mr Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman – Rajasthan Royals shared that “the relationship is based on three important aspect – first the emotional knowledge, second the cultural knowledge and third is the vertical and horizontal aspects of doing business on the ground.”
H.E Ms Harinder Sindhu complimented Deakin and Rajasthan Royals’ partnership and shared, “This collaboration is a great example of cooperation we look to foster under the Australia-India Sports Partnership. I commend this initiative, which seeks to promote a culture of sports education in India, encourage research partnerships that are industry-relevant, and improve students’ university experience and job-readiness.”
In a first of its kind association, Deakin University, Australia and Rajasthan Royals developed a partnership in 2014 and have renewed their engagement during IPL 2018 with an aim to develop a culture of sports education. Deakin University is the official Sports Education Partner to Rajasthan Royals.
Deakin’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Science is ranked #1 in the world. The school offers a wide range of courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Also as part of the Deakin’s collaboration with Rajasthan Royals, one scholarship worth 100% tuition fee waiver is being provided for a student to pursue any sports-related course at Deakin. The scholarship is aimed at identifying talent within India and provide it full support for it to nurture.
Further, three students from Deakin completed an internship with the team and the partners are looking towards various future initiative like the one held yesterday at New Delhi with a view to equip the next generation of entrepreneurs of the business of sport.