India is dwelling to over 436 million youngsters beneath 18, in accordance with UNICEF; nevertheless, the nation lacks a well-developed youth sports activities ecosystem. Most faculties deal with sports activities as an extracurricular exercise reasonably than an integral half of a kid’s growth.
Certified coaches are scarce, bodily schooling programmes are inconsistent, and a standardised framework to measure a baby’s health or sporting potential is missing. This hole is very seen in Tier II, III and IV cities, the place hundreds of thousands of kids develop up with out structured alternatives to develop athletic expertise.
“As a baby, I educated at a state-level swimming stadium in Lucknow, solely to see it demolished. That second stayed with me; it highlighted how little systemic help exists for younger athletes in India,” recollects Utkarsh Yadav, Founder and CEO of KhiladiPro.
In August 2023, Yadav, Akash Khunt, Neerav Shah, and David Gladson—all of whom had private experiences with India’s sports activities infrastructure gaps—based KhiladiPro (KPro) to deal with these challenges.
The Bengaluru startup’s mobile-first platform leverages visible AI to rework any smartphone right into a sports activities evaluation and training device, providing standardised evaluations via its Khiladi Capacity Index (KAI).
From frustration to basis
Yadav was a state-level swimmer and cricketer from Uttar Pradesh; Gladson, a chess participant from Andhra Pradesh; Khunt, an athlete in Kabaddi and Kho-Kho; and Shah grew up in a household the place his mom represented India in two sports activities.
Their collective experiences instilled a conviction: no baby ought to have to decide on between teachers and sports activities as a result of the system doesn’t help them.
Earlier than launching KPro, Yadav, Gladson, and Khunt labored at gaming firm GetMega, constructing real-money and social gaming merchandise. Their publicity to mobile-first expertise, analytics, and AI laid the muse for a scalable visible AI sports activities platform. Shah, becoming a member of from Singapore, introduced strategic and monetary experience, serving to align KPro’s development with its mission to democratise sports activities entry.
“The turning level got here after we realised AI had matured sufficient to carry structured sports activities evaluation to each smartphone. It might lastly make the ‘Proper to Play’ a actuality,” Yadav explains.
Expertise because the equaliser
KPro converts any smartphone into an AI-powered sports activities evaluation and training device, measuring standardised motion intelligence by way of the KAI—India’s first AI-powered motion intelligence framework constructed on basic motor expertise and the long-term athlete growth mannequin.
It measures agility, steadiness, coordination, and energy via structured assessments. “KAI offers bodily literacy the identical significance as teachers. Identical to report playing cards assess tutorial progress, KAI gives measurable insights into a baby’s health and athletic development,” says Yadav.
Utilizing visible AI, the platform analyses video footage of kids performing bodily duties to guage health, monitor progress, and supply insights into sports activities aptitude.
“The primary problem was accessibility. Our AI needed to work offline, on low-end Android gadgets, with out wearables or cloud computing. That required rethinking how pc imaginative and prescient might perform on-device,” Yadav explains.
This led the startup to create small visible fashions (SVMs)—light-weight AI architectures optimised for on-device processing. SVMs analyse movement, posture, and motion patterns thrice quicker than giant international AI fashions like Gemini 2.5, GPT-5, or Claude.
Not like its opponents, Footrax, Stupa Sports activities Analytics, Sportz Village, and KheloMore, which depend on wearables, cloud programs, or organised college programmes, KPro runs over 55 proprietary AI fashions, 15% optimised for on-device use, guaranteeing affordability, scalability, and privateness.
In the meantime, KAI not solely tracks particular person progress over time but in addition allows large-scale benchmarking for colleges, federations, and policymakers. It identifies potential sports activities pathways for youngsters early, counting on goal, data-driven analysis reasonably than subjective judgment.
Scaling entry and supporting younger expertise
In lower than a yr, KPro has partnered with over 50 colleges and academies, together with DPS and Jaipuria Colleges, in addition to federations such because the Handball Affiliation of India. The platform has carried out greater than 20 Olympiads and accomplished over 20,000 assessments, with an order e-book exceeding 150,000 assessments.
The startup ensures affordability and accessibility: particular person assessments value between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 per scholar, whereas institutional partnerships vary from Rs 350 to Rs 1,200 per scholar, relying on scale.
“Our objective is to make standardised sports activities evaluation obtainable to each baby, no matter background or geography,” says Yadav.
Its initiative, Khiladi Klub, identifies and nurtures younger athletic expertise, and presently helps 12 athletes, primarily aged 13–15. The programme gives scholarships of round Rs 1 lakh per yr, protecting diet, tools, and coaching.
“We concentrate on early expertise identification and supply structured pathways to assist athletes attain their potential,” explains Yadav. The Klub can be experimenting with brand-athlete partnerships to scale help as athletes develop, constructing a proof of idea for extra devoted programmes as youngsters attain ages 14–16.
In Might this yr, KPro raised $1 million from MGA Ventures and Shastra VC to strengthen R&D, broaden partnerships, and speed up AI growth. Wanting forward, the startup goals to ship over 200,000 assessments by 2025 and broaden internationally with pilot programmes in Australia and the UAE.
.thumbnailWrapper{
width:6.62rem !necessary;
}
.alsoReadTitleImage{
min-width: 81px !necessary;
min-height: 81px !necessary;
}
.alsoReadMainTitleText{
font-size: 14px !necessary;
line-height: 20px !necessary;
}
.alsoReadHeadText{
font-size: 24px !necessary;
line-height: 20px !necessary;
}
}
Constructing India’s youth health dataset
Past assessments, KPro is creating India’s largest youth health dataset—a structured repository of anonymised, video-backed motion information, permitting macro-level insights on youth well being, bodily literacy, and sports activities aptitude, serving to colleges and federations make data-driven selections.
In actual fact, it additionally positions KPro as a key enabler in coverage discussions on baby well being, sports activities schooling, and early-stage athlete growth.
“Information is the muse for expertise discovery. With out dependable baselines, figuring out potential athletes or designing health programmes turns into guesswork. Our system brings science and construction to what has at all times been subjective,” Yadav notes.
Market context and the street forward
India’s sports activities tech market, valued at $442.4 million in 2024, is anticipated to succeed in $1.47 billion by 2033, rising at a CAGR of 13.3%, in accordance with IMARC. “Regardless of development, the sector stays fragmented, with restricted digital infrastructure and no nationwide framework for health benchmarking,” he provides.
KPro’s AI-first, SaaS-driven mannequin addresses this hole via scalability, inclusivity, and standardisation, integrating deeptech with India’s social and developmental priorities.
The startup’s long-term imaginative and prescient is to construct a common AI Sports activities Coach, delivering real-time, personalised steering throughout a number of sports activities, making high-quality teaching accessible to each baby with a smartphone.
By 2026, KPro goals to succeed in 1 million youngsters via month-to-month Olympiads and institutional programmes.
“Sports activities shouldn’t be a privilege; it’s a proper. Via expertise, we’re guaranteeing that each baby, whether or not in Delhi or Dibrugarh, has the identical alternative to play, be taught, and develop,” Yadav concludes.
Edited by Suman Singh
Elevate your perspective with NextTech Information, the place innovation meets perception.
Uncover the most recent breakthroughs, get unique updates, and join with a world community of future-focused thinkers.
Unlock tomorrow’s traits immediately: learn extra, subscribe to our publication, and grow to be a part of the NextTech neighborhood at NextTech-news.com
