The Biggest Problem in Indian Sport Isn’t Talent. It’s Uncertainty. | Aashish Rathi | KRITVA Tales

The biggest problem in Indian sport isn’t talent. It’s uncertainty. That is the question Aashish Rathi began asking himself one evening at PYC Hindu Gymkhana. His six-year-old son was playing cricket on the ground. Like most enthusiastic parents, Aashish was watching closely. And, like most parents, he couldn’t resist giving his son a little unsolicited advice! But watching his son play brought back memories of his own childhood—playing cricket, football and skating. He hadn’t quit because he lacked talent. He had simply quit. And suddenly Aashish found himself wondering: How many children start playing sport but leave before they ever discover what they are truly capable of? He began speaking to parents, athletes, coaches and academy owners. And he discovered something striking. More than three decades after his own childhood, parents were still asking the same questions: What if my child doesn’t become a champion? What if they get injured? What if sport affects their studies? What if there isn’t a career? What if all the effort goes nowhere? Somewhere along the way, sport had become an all-or-nothing activity. Children weren’t always playing simply because they loved the game. Parents wanted certainty. And that uncertainty becomes even bigger around the age of 13 or 14, when the initial excitement begins to fade and nobody can clearly answer: “Where do I go from here?” Aashish believes this is one of the biggest gaps in Indian sport. Not a shortage of talent. A shortage of clarity. We use assessments and entrance examinations to help children make decisions about academics and careers. We conduct medical tests before taking insurance. We get blood reports before doctors make important decisions. Because better decisions are made when we have better information. Yet when it comes to sport—something that can shape a child’s health, confidence, resilience, leadership and relationships—we often have just one question: “Do you still like it?” That thought eventually led Aashish to create Beyond YOLO and develop SAIP — Sports and Interest Profile, a platform designed to help children, parents and coaches understand the child’s compatibility with sport better. SAIP looks beyond performance. It brings together four areas: Fitness Mental assessment Emotional assessment Interest assessment It can help children understand whether they may be better suited to individual or team sports, while also revealing qualities such as leadership, teamwork, decision-making, emotional temperament, learning styles and competitive behaviour. Because the goal isn’t simply to identify the next champion. It is to help a child find a sport they genuinely enjoy. And if children enjoy the game, they are more likely to stay with it. If they stay longer, they have more opportunity to learn. To build confidence. To develop resilience. To form friendships. And perhaps, eventually, to discover a level of potential nobody could have predicted when they were six, eight or twelve years old. Aashish’s idea of Moving the Needle is therefore not about creating more champions overnight. It is about changing the relationship an entire generation has with sport. What if we stopped asking only, “Will my child become a champion?” And started asking: “What can we understand about this child that will help them stay in sport long enough to find out?” This is Aashish Rathi’s story of why clarity may be one of the missing pieces in Indian sport—and why helping children understand themselves could help them stay in the game for much longer. 🎥 Watch Aashish’s complete story from KRITVA Tales: Moving the Needle. ___________ Aashish Rathi, Beyond YOLO, SAIP, Sports and Interest Profile, KRITVA Tales, Moving the Needle, sports aptitude test, sports assessment for children, children in sports, youth sports India, sports parenting, sports parents, child sports development, athlete development, sports talent identification, sports psychology, sports aptitude, sports career, choosing the right sport, Indian sports, sports ecosystem, sports education, young athletes, sports participation, athlete potential ___________ #KRITVATales #MovingTheNeedle #AashishRathi #BeyondYOLO #SAIP #SportsAptitude #YouthSports #SportsParents #SportsParenting #IndianSports #AthleteDevelopment #SportsEcosystem #YoungAthletes #SportsStories #SportsArchive ___________ 🎧 Live Talks every month 📌 Subscribe and be part of a life that moves Contact & Collaborations For collaborations, partnerships, or speaking opportunities: 📩 Email: kritvaunplugged@gmail.com 📱 Instagram:   / kritva.co