In a country where sports development often lacks structure and long-term tracking, SportsSkill, a sports-tech platform, is stepping in to fill a critical gap.
Founded by Abhinav Sinha and Chetan Desai — both former athletes and coaches — SportsSkill is a cutting-edge platform designed to bring data-driven insights into the world of sports training and talent development. The duo realised the need to upgrade and modernize training and talent development during their own journeys in professional sports.
Abhinav played squash and was the coach of the Indian team for the World Junior Championship in 2019 and the British Junior Open in 2020. Chetan meanwhile played tennis and was once an ATP-ranked player with a career-high ranking of 310.
What started as a response to the chaos of Excel sheets and WhatsApp updates has evolved into a comprehensive system that helps coaches, parents, and athletes monitor performance, assess progress, and make informed decisions. From grassroots programs to advanced training modules, the platform is being used across multiple sports and is making waves not just in metros, but also in India’s smaller towns.
The Sportz Planet sat down with the two former athletes turned entrepreneurs for an interview to know more about SportsSkill.
Excepts of the interview are below:
How did the idea of SportsSkill originate?
Abhinav Sinha: I have been playing and then coaching for a long time. Around 2017–18, I was managing athletes across Pune and Mumbai. The biggest challenge was tracking their training and progress. Everything was scattered — Excel sheets, WhatsApp messages — and it was hard to stay on top of things.
By 2019–20, I began speaking with Chetan, and by 2021, we decided there had to be a better way — especially with so much tech available. Education, for example, has robust data and assessment systems. But in sports, especially in India, that kind of structured data didn’t exist. That’s where SportSkill was born — as a way to fill that gap.
Chetan Desai: Exactly. For years, parents would ask me — “I’m spending so much on my kid’s tennis, more than on school — but how do I know if he or she is progressing?” Coaches would just say, “They’re doing well,” but what does that really mean?
We realized that there was a need for a simple, effective way to track and visualize an athlete’s development. Not just for the athletes and parents, but for the coaches too, who are often stretched thin managing 50 or even 100 kids.
If you had to summarize — what are the key problems SportSkill is solving?
Abhinav Sinha: In simple bullet points:
Performance tracking of athletes
Creating structured sports profiles
Data collection for better decision-making
Assisting in talent identification
Giving reports and insights to coaches, parents, and academies
We want to bring data-driven guidance to Indian sports.
Is SportSkill limited to certain sports right now, or is it built for all kinds of athletes?
Abhinav Sinha: We started with tennis and squash — our comfort zones — but we’ve now expanded to include 6 to 8 sports, including team sports. We define an athlete as anyone engaged in any sport — individual or team. It is a platform for all athletes. The goal is to track and support their growth through measurable data.
So you’re essentially creating a structured system for sports development in India. Why is this data so important?
Abhinav Sinha: Take any top athlete — whether it’s Sachin Tendulkar or Neeraj Chopra. We all know their achievements, but no one has a comprehensive record of what they were doing at age 8, 9, 10.
I’ve tracked athletes from a very young age who’ve now become national champions. That long-term data helped me see patterns — what worked, what didn’t. And now, when I guide the next generation, I can use that knowledge in a data-backed way.
Parents need to understand, for example, that if their child wants to be a national-level player but is training only three times a week, it’s just not enough. These insights are only possible with proper tracking.
What about the cultural mindset? Do coaches and parents readily accept AI and data analytics in sports
Abhinav Sinha: Not always. It’s still new for many. But I always say — tech is not here to replace coaches. However, coaches who use tech will replace those who don’t. That’s the future. Today, a top coach might be training 50–60 athletes. Ask them the name of the 53rd kid — they might not even remember. It’s not their fault. It’s just not scalable without tech.
As expectations rise and parents invest more, they’ll demand better insights. Coaches who adapt to tech will stay ahead.
How has the industry responded to SportSkill so far?
Abhinav Sinha: In the beginning, a lot of people told us — “If you’re not working with cricket, you’re wasting your time.” That was the mindset.
But two years later, people are waking up to the potential. SportSkill has been ranked among the Top 10 sports tech startups in India. We also have strong backing — including VC legend KP Balraj, which helped validate what we’re building. There’s now a clear shift. Sports tech is getting the recognition it deserves, beyond just fantasy sports.
How do you define the sports tech market? It’s a broad term today.
Abhinav Sinha: Yeah, great point. A lot of “sports tech” is actually fantasy gaming or online betting platforms, which technically inflate the market size. But for us, true sports tech is physical — making you sweat, tracking real-world performance. Our app involves video uploads, feedback, and smart reports based on actual athlete inputs.
Globally, sports tech is growing at around 27% CAGR, and India is catching up fast. We now have dedicated sports tech funds in India and Dubai. It’s an exciting space to be in.
What are future plans for SportsSkills?
Abhinav Sinha: Our next aim is to go global. We are looking at US markets right now, US and Dubai. As of now, we are live on both Android, iOS, so aggressively going to go to grassroot. We really want to in India, at least, we want to hit two, tier three, tier four, tier cities, basically all the smaller town where kids can get, get access to something like this. They can watch sports related videos. They can upload their videos. So as of now, just to expand. And obviously our technology we are upgrading. We are getting more and more features in which will which is our ongoing process. But as of now, we are equipped to go deep into grassroots. And obviously the second aim is to go international, global.
What was the recent initiative you did in Pune where SportsSkill held a three-month-long Sports Education and Talent Identification Program at SSPM Day School & Junior College?
Abhinav Sinha: That was part of our talent identification program. We visited a boarding school with kids from Grades 5 to 8. We tested them through 8–16 physical parameters — recorded their videos, gave them feedback. Now we’re entering Phase 2, where the top performers will undergo more advanced training and testing. Over time, they’ll see their own growth — “Oh, I used to do that drill like this, and now look at me!”
It’s much better than a coach saying, “I like this kid.” This is objective data helping us guide and develop talent early.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
