It was a few days into the Paris Olympics, and Sharmistha and I had been invited to the opening of the India House. It was a lovely occasion, with some wonderful Indian food as an added attraction. We were impressed with the attention to detail, and that’s where we met Shri Mukesh Ambani. Mukesh bhai was kind enough to tell Sharmistha that he had followed my work for a long time, and felt RevSportz was a welcome addition to the Indian sports ecosystem. These were serious words of encouragement, and we began speaking about Indian Olympic sport.
Mukesh bhai asked how many medals I was predicting, and I said 7–8. I was hoping for a medal from Lakshya Sen and one more from the shooting contingent. Eventually, India got 6. That’s not the point here. He listened patiently and said, “We collectively need to work out a roadmap to get this up to 30 medals soon enough. We can’t be hosting the Olympics and winning 6–7 medals. You need to work on this roadmap, and we have to get this done.”
With Mukesh bhai, two things always stand out: scale and clarity of thought. He has consistently supported the work RevSportz has done, and it means a lot coming from him. And when he messaged last night, congratulating me and Team RevSportz for completing four successful years, it meant a great deal.
Having said that, the second part of his message is even more important. It is about the responsibility we all have to inspire the youth—making them more sports-conscious and more involved. This is what Mukesh bhai said: “My warmest congratulations to you and your team at RevSportz on completing 4 years. All my prayers and best wishes for even more achievements in future and as India advances as a sporting power in the world in the coming decades… continue to encourage the youth.”
As sports journalists, this is what we need to do. It can’t be just about criticism and sensationalism. It can’t be about gossip. And it can’t be about covering cricket and cricket only. We need to go beyond the 22 yards, and venture out on to the hockey turf and the athletics track. We need to understand how mega events can help improve cities. We need to critically evaluate the legacy of the Commonwealth Games and work on the issue of sustainability. And in doing so, we can educate and encourage the youth to follow sport more closely.
Sport, one has to admit, is a prism of life. We at RevSportz learn from it every day. We learn how to lose, how to fail, how to pick ourselves up and try again. We learn not to give up and to keep trying. As we complete four years, Mukesh bhai’s words will serve as both inspiration and reminder. It is a continuous quest—to try and make a difference to the ecosystem. The next 10 years could be huge for India with the Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympics, if India does win the hosting rights. Sport as soft power could well become a preferred subject of study, and that’s where RevSportz can make a tangible difference.
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