The latest venture of Sourjyendu Medda into the sportstech sector named Sports For Life seems to be a promising shift in India’s sports ecosystem. He had earlier co-founded DealShare and entry into a space is often overlooked by the startup community. It is like an untapped potential in nurturing athletic talent and building infrastructure.
India is currently celebrating sporadic successes in sports beyond cricket and the need for a structured ecosystem is required that can provide resources as well as long-term development for athletes.
The vision of Medda for Sports For Life seems to go beyond simply investing in sports academies. It is an attempt to professionalize and elevate the sporting space in the country where potential is often wasted due to lack of proper training, funding and facilities.
Sports For Life has raised Rs 9.5 crore in seed funding from investors such as Roots Ventures, ML Tandon and Sons HUF and Blume Ventures. Roots Ventures is the largest external stakeholder and holds a 12.08% stake in the startup.
Sports For Life is set to focus on athlete development. It will mainly focus in strengthening sports academies across India.
The rise of startup unicorns in e-commerce, fintech and edtech has been well applauded in India. Simultaneously, sports remained a neglected area. The decision of Medda to leave DealShare and venture into sports suggests a deeper understanding of the immense possibilities that sportstech holds in a country with more than a billion people hungry for sporting success on the global stage.
It is also equally impressive that Medda has partnered with Armaan Tandon to bring in a co-founder with a strong data and operations background. The rise of such ventures is part of a larger 2024 trend where several startup founders like Ashneer Grover and Binny Bansal are moving into unconventional sectors.
The sportstech revolution is just at its beginning stage and Sports For Life could be well placed in transforming India’s sports industry.
