For years, “success” in India mostly meant cracking exams or landing a white‑collar job. But a new sports culture is slowly changing that picture: policies like Khelo Bharat Niti and the National Sports Policy 2025 promise better stadiums, scouting in small towns, sports scholarships and clearer career paths in coaching, analytics, fitness and management. At the same time, youth interest is quietly shifting beyond cricket to motorsport, basketball, MMA, badminton and more, helped by streaming, fantasy leagues and global fandoms.

This opens up big questions about class, access and risk. Do these new opportunities really reach government‑school kids and small‑town players, or mostly the already privileged who can afford academies, diets and travel? Are we building a healthy sports ecosystem or just chasing medals and influencer deals, with pressure and injuries replacing exam stress?

Key questions for today’s thread:
1) If money and family pressure were no issue, would you or your younger self have considered a serious sports career? In which game?
2) Are these new policies and leagues actually visible where you live, or does “sports revolution” still feel like a TV slogan?
3) What safeguards are needed so that young athletes don’t end up exploited, burnt out or discarded if they don’t “make it” to the top?

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