The Performance Institute.
A first-of-its-kind partnership between Axis Bank and GoSports Foundation, building India's premier hub for sports science, athlete testing, and applied research — housed at the Centre for Sports Excellence, Bengaluru.
The backbone institution for Indian sport
Elite sporting success is not a solitary pursuit. Systems of winning bridge the thin margins of victory through science, strategy, and support — for the individual athlete and the national team alike.
The Performance Institute aims to become the internationally-renowned backbone institution that leads and measures the performance of India's sports ecosystem: enhancing talent identification, safeguarding athlete well-being, driving inclusive participation, and strengthening domestic coaching and sports science capacity.
Three integrated pillars
People
Build India's coaching, sports science, and governance pipeline — training programmes, fellowships, mentorship, and professional development pathways for practitioners across federations, academies, and high-performance environments.
Analytics
Establish India's premier athlete testing, assessment, and strategy facility — performance testing, biomechanics, recovery monitoring, injury-risk assessment, and data-driven performance planning.
Research
Create a national repository of indigenous data sets, sports science research, and innovation — generating India-specific evidence rather than relying on foreign benchmarks.
Three gaps in India's sporting landscape
A shortage of India-specific data sets and research infrastructure limits sports science adoption, leaving coaches dependent on foreign benchmarks. There have been only 16 India-specific studies covering 887 athletes over 20 years, and 58% of athletes report under-use of sports science support — adoption is weakest outside elite training environments.
Athlete support systems remain thin compared to global standards. Globally, elite athletes have 8–12 specialists supporting them; India averages roughly 1 support staff per Olympic athlete, with many coaches playing multiple roles. In daily training settings, support is often 1 expert per 4–5 athletes at National Camps and above.
Indian junior athletes show high promise, but early specialisation locks them into one sport before true aptitude is understood. Just 3–4% transition from junior to senior athletics (vs. 20–30% globally); multi-sport participation has fallen to 1.6 sports/year (down from 2.2); and 1 in 5 athletes trains in a primary sport 9–12 months a year.
Coach-to-athlete ratio
1:114 in India vs. an ideal global standard of 1:10. At Paris 2024, 25 of 68 coaches (37%) were foreign — reflecting a domestic capacity gap.
Sanctioned vs. employed coaches
The Sports Authority of India employs just 860 of 1,524 sanctioned coaching positions — a 43% vacancy rate.
Where India stands on delegation support
Athletes and support staff at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2024.
| Country | Olympic sports | Athletes (support staff) | Paralympic sports | Athletes (support staff) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 31 of 32 | 610 (~1,200) | 20 of 22 | 225 (~400) |
| China | 30 of 32 | 405 (311) | 19 of 22 | 284 (232) |
| Brazil | 29 of 32 | 250 (~350) | 20 of 22 | 100 (~140) |
| India | 16 of 32 | 117 (~170) | 12 of 22 | 84 (95) |
India's 1.4 billion population fuels immense sporting passion, yet only 10% have played a sport, and Sport & Physical Activity contributes just 0.1% of GDP and 0.5% of jobs today. By 2047, that could grow to 2% of GDP and 4% of jobs.
Built for where national policy is heading
National Sports Policy 2025
Khelo Bharat Niti — excellence on the global stage, sport for economic & social development, and integration with education (NEP 2020).
Khelo India Mission 2026
Integrated talent development pathways, systematic coach & support staff development, and sports science & technology integration.
Union Budget 2026
Enhanced investment in sports science infrastructure, professionalisation of the sports workforce, and incentives for sports manufacturing.
From current state to 2030 outcomes
People
Expert onboarding → periodic certification batches → national & global accreditation.
By 2030: 300 certified coaches & experts, industry-ready talent for government and private sector roles.
Analytics
Establish testing facility → pilot athlete testing for talent ID → scale to enhance on-field performance.
By 2030: 1,000 athletes tested with Fit-to-Sport profiling, 200 elite athletes tested, reduced burnout and injury risk.
Research
Define priority research areas → build institute partnerships → structured data capture.
By 2030: Athlete Management System developed, publications in international sports science journals.
Centre for Sports Excellence (CSE)
A 16-acre, fully integrated high-performance sports hub in Bengaluru, offering world-class training and competition infrastructure across numerous sports. An MoU between GoSports Foundation and CSE is already in place for the proposed facility — a building currently used as a Sports Museum, showcasing memorabilia from Indian athletes.
Vivek Kumar
Founder & Director, CSE. A three-time Karnataka State Badminton champion and co-founder of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
Ved Kumar
Managing Director, CSE. Brings global sport management experience, shaping CSE into a world-class private sports ecosystem.
How it's structured
An Advisory Board provides strategic guidance and sectoral expertise; the Director leads execution, oversees functional heads, and drives cross-team accountability.
Advisory Board
Axis Bank representative · GoSports Foundation representative · CSE representative · Independent representative
Institute Director
Leads execution across three functional heads: Head of People, Head of Analytics, and Head of Research.
From founding partner to self-sustaining institution
Project Cycle 1 (Years 1–4, FY 2026–30) is primarily funded by Axis Bank as Founding Partner, ensuring clear governance, operational stability, and strong brand association while the institute develops capability to onboard new partners. The aim is for AGTPI to become self-sustaining by the completion of Project Cycle 2 (Years 5–8, 2030–2034).
| # | Funding stream | Cycle | Potential milestone year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corporate CSR — multi-corporate, thematic or programme-based | 1 | 2026–27 |
| 2 | Non-CSR philanthropy — HNI donors, foundations | 1 | 2027–28 |
| 3 | Government grants — SAI, Khelo India, associations, research grants | 1 | 2027–28 |
| 4 | International grants — Olympic Solidarity, Laureus, sports science grants | 1 | 2028–29 |
| 5 | Sports industry partners — equipment, apparel, nutrition, performance tech | 2 | 2030–31 |
| 6 | Fee-based services — athlete testing, coaching education, data services | 2 | 2031–32 |
| 7 | Shop-in-shop / R&D labs — space for partner innovation units | 2 | 2032–33 |
| 8 | IP & knowledge revenue — advisory & consulting | 2 | 2033–34 |
Indicative table, subject to change.
₹40 Cr over four years
| Pillar | Category | FY 26–27 | FY 27–28 | FY 28–29 | FY 29–30 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | Setup & training delivery | 0.10 | 0.39 | 0.64 | 0.87 | 2.00 |
| Subject-matter experts | 0.34 | 0.89 | 0.97 | 1.05 | 3.25 | |
| Analytics | Setup & testing delivery | 2.97 | 5.48 | 5.23 | 2.27 | 15.95 |
| Subject-matter experts | 0.77 | 1.39 | 1.74 | 1.90 | 5.80 | |
| Research | Setup & research delivery | 0.12 | 0.47 | 0.79 | 1.14 | 2.52 |
| Subject-matter experts | 0.45 | 1.07 | 1.69 | 1.82 | 5.03 | |
| Operations | Common costs | 1.80 | 1.16 | 1.21 | 1.28 | 5.45 |
| Total | 6.55 | 10.85 | 12.27 | 10.33 | 40.00 |
All amounts in INR Crores. Indicative outlay from the founding proposal.
Names under discussion for AGTPI
These are potential collaborators identified in early planning — not yet confirmed appointments.
Paddy Upton
Performance Director & Mental Coach. South African-born cricket coach, mental coach to professional athletes, and Professor of Practice at Deakin University.
Peter Davis
Global leader in high-performance sports management. Original senior consultant with Canada's "Own the Podium"; Managing Partner at Apex Global Sport Group.
Steffan Jones
CEO & Director at PACELAB. Former professional cricketer (Somerset, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Kent) and qualified sports scientist.
Michael Italiano
Performance Director with a decade in performance coaching, including six years in elite Formula One.
Built on 18 years in the field
GoSports Foundation, established as a Trust in 2008, is a professionally managed, national award-winning, independent non-profit — an acknowledged leader in designing and implementing multi-year sports excellence and development programmes.
John Gloster
Director of Sports Science
Australian physiotherapist with decades of elite cricket experience since the late 1990s; former Head Physio of the Indian national cricket team (2005–2008), working with captains Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble, and Dhoni. Part of GoSports since 2014, he built the Sports Science vertical and established its protocols.