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NEW DELHI: Two years after the launch of Khelo India, the national programme for development of sports has begun showing results — may be not in medals or trophies yet, but on businesses dealing in sports goods.Consider this: manufacturing of sports goods such as hockey sticks, badminton and tennis racquets, boxing kits and gym equipment has seen a 25% increase this year in Jalandhar — the sports city of India compared with 10% growth last year.Manufacturers and importers have attributed this growth to improved health consciousness among Indians, higher number of gymnasiums and an increase in sporting activities in schools.Makers have also seen an increase in safety kits, guards, gloves and practice dummies used in martial arts like karate, taekwondo, judo and boxing. “There is a lot of improvement in the growth of carbon fibre racquets, carbon fibre hockey sticks, cricket protective equipment and boxing equipment. Schools are a reason for domestic market pickup and people increasingly becoming sports-oriented because of Khelo India,” said Ajaya Mahajan, chairman, Sports Goods Manufacturers and exporters association (SGMEA).The proliferation of indoor stadiums and gyms too have helped the industry along with the rising health consciousness among Indians.As per Mahajan, gym equipment is one of the fastest growing segments in domestic manufacturing.The Indian sports goods industry manufactures 300-odd items with major exports being inflatable balls, hockey sticks and balls, cricket bats and balls, boxing equipment, fishing equipment, indoor games like carrom and chess boards and different kinds of protective equipment.73512659
Jalandhar and Meerut together claim around 75% to 80% of the total production.Inflatable balls and other type of balls constitute the bulk of the sports items exported. Others include cricket bats and related equipment, hockey sticks, gymnasium and athletic equipment and other sports equipment. The major export countries are US, UK, Germany and France.As per Sumnesh Agarwal, director at Meerut-based Premier Enterprises, business in the Meerut cluster — another hub of sports goods — has been growing 8-9% annually.India’s sports goods industry is highly labour-intensive and requires very specific skills and manual techniques, be it in the stitching of footballs or in crafting of a cricket bat. A large number of home-based manufacturers are also involved in the value chain. Most of the enterprises in the cluster are small and cottage scale.The Indian sports and fitness goods market reached a value of $3.6 billion in 2018, as per market research company IMARC.Schools, indigenous gamesThe government is also supporting indigenous sports such as Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu, Gatka and Thang-Ta. Last year, 23 sports events were held in Rural and Indigenous Games in which about 1,500 players participated.Under the Fit India movement, states have been advised to encourage all schools to provide for regular sports, including a local/indigenous game, for all students.“There is big time investment happening in sports infrastructure such as stadiums. This has a gestation period. However, schools have become big buyers as now kids have to participate in sports. There is a 5-10% increase in business,” said Vikas Gupta, managing director at Jalandhar-based Soccer International Private Ltd.An amount of Rs 156.83 crore has been provided to various sports academies under the Khelo India Scheme.In fact, the first Khelo India School Games were held in 2018 in which 3,507 athletes participated. This number increased to 5,925 in the second edition of the scheme called Khelo India Youth Games, 2019.A different leagueLiking for sports has gone beyond cricket to kabaddi, football, and badminton among others. Experts say this is partly because of the proliferation of various sporting leagues including Premier Badminton League, Pro Kabaddi League and Indian Boxing League which has resulted in an unprecedented boom in viewership, participation, and sports-related industries.“The interest and consumption of sports in India is slowly changing to support multiple professional sports leagues in addition to cricket,” global consulting and advisory firm EY and Ficci said in a recent report on India’s media and entertainment sector.As per the report, 2018 saw wrestling garner 20% of time spent on sports on television, while cricket achieved 19%. The share of time spent on volleyball, athletics, boxing, hockey, martial arts, badminton and soccer all increased.Gupta, who deals in soccer and gym equipment, has tied up with manufacturers of gym equipment such as dumbbells and accessories like twisters and skipping ropes so as to reduce his dependence on Chinese imports. “We would like to manufacture high-end gym equipment in India in the next 5-10 years but that needs an industry as well,” Gupta said. Industry watchers said that one keeps hearing of global companies’ interest in India’s sports goods market but no announcements have been made so far. However, the domestic industry is facing completion from China and this is not helping local manufacturing.“While cross trainers and treadmills maybe a difficult product to manufacture, there is scope to produce smaller items like dumbbells and push-up stands,” said Manish Mahajan, CEO, Hans Raj Mahajan Worldwide, a manufacturer and exporter of soccer balls, rugby balls and basketball. India imported sports goods worth $355 million in the April-October period compared with an 8% on year rise in 2018-19 to $654 million and $598 million in 2017-18.
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