This is the one question I asked TV Narendran, Tata Steel’s global CEO and managing director, as we met up in Kolkata last week over a cup of tea. First things first, the success of the Trailblazers Conclave can indeed be attributed to the support of Tata Steel and Mr Narendran. I vividly remember a conversation with him in January 2023, when I first requested him for support for the conclave. His answer was interesting. “If you want to do only cricket then I am not keen. Cricket is already a cluttered space,” he had said.
It was music to my ears. I wanted to do a lot more in the Olympic and Paralympic space and delve deeper into issues like mental health. Mr. Narendran, in one meeting, had given me the go-ahead.
Now the conclave is in its 4th year and may I say it has become India’s best sports conclave, with athletes themselves reaching out to us and wanting to come to Kolkata for the event. Tata Steel has been one of our strongest supporters and backed our efforts in the realms of disability sport and women’s sport. None of these domains, however, will have mass takers. They are niche areas of work and to expect the Indian sports fans to overnight start backing Paralympic sport will be wrong. Mr Narendran and the senior management at Tata Steel like Mr DB Sundara Ramam know it well.
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It is against this backdrop that I asked Mr Narendran the question.
“I measure success in terms of impact. Have you been able to bring about change? Create awareness? Make a difference. Have you been able to help advance Indian sport? Bring important stories to the forefront and help the overall ecosystem? I think you have and that’s why we at Tata Steel have supported RevSportz,” he said.
That is exactly what it is about. Success isn’t measured by numbers. Rather, it is measured by impact. Even India’s greatest Olympic moment — Neeraj Chopra winning gold in Tokyo, would have been consumed by a lesser number of fans than those who watch a regular IPL game. Does that make the Olympic gold any less significant? While the IPL is a hugely successful business case study and a market favourite, India’s success at the Paralympics in Paris, 29 medals, is an equally important sports story. It is never either or. It is always one and the other. Given that you can only do so much, I’d want to do more Olympic and Paralympic sport in 2026 with the CWG and the Asian Games being the highlights of the year.
India will host the CWG four years from now. And we are poised to make a strong pitch for the Olympics in 2036. India needs to celebrate Sheetal Devi as much as we do for say Abhishek Sharma. Suruchi Inder and Samrat Rana are as important as a Hardik Pandya. That’s where the success of RevSportz lies. While cricket has its takers, we will do our cricket, and Olympic and Paralympic sport with equal verve. As Mr Narendran said: “Bring important stories to the forefront.”
Wish you all a peaceful and healthy 2026.
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