Careers in Sports

Sportsperson who Inspire

There was once a time when India dominated the international hockey circuit and Dhyan Chand was at the centre of all these triumphs. He helped India win three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936. His goal scoring ability was phenomenal and the opposition defenders were often made to look like sitting ducks in front of this wizard from India.

Milkha Singh, also known as the ‘Flying Sikh’, is the most famous Indian sprinter and one of the first sporting icons of the country. Singh was the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. He won the top prize in the 400-metre competition in 1958. Singh was separated from his family and orphaned during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, which makes Singh’s achievements even more admirable.

The most beloved sportsperson India has ever seen also goes by the name of ‘Little Master’. Although short in stature and soft-spoken, on the cricket pitch, Sachin Tendulkar was a force to be reckoned with. No other cricketer has held so many batting records as he has. He stepped into the spotlight when he was just 16 years old.

Mithali Raj is the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. In a country where women’s cricket has very few takers, Raj has shown a steadfast commitment to the game despite all odds. She is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket and the only female cricketer to get more than 6,000 runs in one-day internationals.

A five-time winner in World Chess Championship, this sports star is a Grandmaster and was undisputed World No.1 from 2007 to 2013. He became India’s first chess grandmaster when he was barely 20 years old. Viswanathan Anand is the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honour in India.

Mary Kom is the only woman boxer who represented our nation and also managed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics where she also won a Bronze Medal. She is the best for being a five-time World Amateur Boxing Champion. She has been honored with Padma Shri in 2010 and also Padma Bhushan In 2013. Mary Kom won a Gold Medal in flyweight category as well in the year 2014.

Sania Mirza reached the world number one ranking in the women’s doubles category when she was paired alongside tennis great, Martina Hingis. Mirza has won numerous grand slam titles playing in the doubles and mixed-doubles categories and is one of the highest paid sportswomen in India. 

In 2015, Saina Nehwal became the only Indian female badminton player to have attained the world number one ranking. She has won over 21 international titles and a bronze medal in the Olympics. Nehwal is responsible for popularizing the sport of badminton in the country.

Pankaj Advani is an 18-time World Billiards and Snooker Champion. He won his first World Title at the young age of 18. He is the only person in the history of the game to have won both the billiards and snooker IBSF World Titles as well as the World Professional Billiards Championship. While mastering just one format of the game is hard enough, Advani has specialized in both billiards and snooker and has done it with aplomb.

Sakshi Malik made history in the 2016 Rio Olympics by becoming the first ever Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, the bronze medal in the 58 kg category. Professional wrestlers, like Malik and sisters Geeta and Babita Phogat, deserve credit for doing the country proud by winning medals in sporting events like the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.

Abhinav Bindra is the first Indian individual athlete to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games. He won the 10 metre Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Bindra is also a former World Shooting Champion and a gold medalist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. His shooting career began early with Bindra becoming the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games at just 15 years old.

In 1997 Baichung Bhutia created history by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in the hotly contested derby against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan. The year 2008 where the AFC Challenge Cup, enabled India to compete for the Asia Cup for the first time since 1984 and also winning the SAFF Championships thrice, was the most successful era where Indian team led.

Careers

Ø  Sports person

Ø  Instructor or Coach

Ø  Referee

Ø  Team Doctor

Ø  Sports Nutritionist

Ø  Sports Journalist

Ø  Sports Photographer

Ø  Sports Event Manager

Ø  Physical Education Teacher

Ø  Team Director

Ø  Team Manager

Ø  Sports Medicine and Psychology

Ø  Sports Marketing

Ø  Sports Operations

Ø  Product and Brand Management in Sports

Ø  Sponsorship Strategy and Communications in Sports

Ø  Commentator

Ø  Personal Trainer

Ø  Professional Athlete

Ø  Health Advice Officer

Eligibility

Ø  Graduation in Physical Education after class 12^th with a physically fit body and high energy level.

Ø  For a career in sports medicine you will have to complete MBBS, followed by Diploma course in Sports Medicine.

Courses

Bachelor Courses

Ø  Bachelor of Physical Education (B.P.Ed.)

Ø  B.Sc. in Sports Science and Nutrition

Ø  B.Sc. in Physical Education and Sports Science

Ø  B.Sc. in Sports Science

Ø  BBA in Sports Management

Ø  Bachelor of Sports Management

Ø  BA in Sports Management

Master Courses

Ø  Master of Physical Education (M.P.Ed.)

Ø  M.Sc. in Sports Science

Ø  M.Sc. in Physical Education and Sports Science

Ø  MBA in Sports Management

Ø  Master of Sports Management

Ø  M.Sc. in Sports Science and Nutrition

Ø  MBA in Sports Business

PG Diploma Courses

Ø  PG Diploma in Sports Medicine

Ø  PG Diploma in Sports Science and Nutrition

Ø  PG Diploma in Sports Coaching

Ø  PG Diploma in Sports Journalism

Ø  PGDM in Sports Business

Ø  PGDM in Sports Management

Doctoral Courses

Ø  PhD in Physical Education

Ø  PhD in Sports Management

Universities offering courses related to sports

The University of Delhi has 5% seats reserved for sports students in every college. Apart from that there are several academies and institutes under Sports Authority of India (SAI) that impart training to young students to transform them into talented sportspersons. Some prominent institutes are:

Ø  Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior

Ø  Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, Thiruvananthapuram

Ø  MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai

Ø  Tata Football Academy, Jamshedpur

Ø  National Cricket Academy, Bangalore

Ø  Gujarat University, Ahmedabad

Ø  National Sports East Centre, Kolkata

Ø  Adarsh College of Physical Education, Osmanabad

Ø  Amity School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Noida

Ø  Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala

Ø  Bhupathi Tennis Academy, Bangalore

Ø  Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, New Delhi.

Ø  Delhi university, Delhi

Salary

Starting salary in careers related to sports is approx ₹ 3,00,000 to ₹ 5,00,000 per year. The salary is also dependent on your job profile.

The salary of the sports persons depends on the sport that he has chosen. In the field of sports, merely the number of years of experience does not matter, but also the capability of the sports person to deliver excellent performance consistently. When you become a star sportsman, you can earn in crores per annum.