India’s greatest asset is the energy of its youth. We have the largest, youngest population on the planet — a demographic dividend that holds the key to our future. Yet, this incredible asset is caught in a dual health crisis. While over half of our adolescent girls suffer from anemia, a new epidemic of inactivity is surging. With a majority of our children failing to meet recommended physical activity levels and over 75 per cent exceeding screen time limits, we are witnessing alarming consequences: 17 per cent of our youth are now pre-diabetic, and nearly one in five is overweight or obese. This growing health crisis is a serious threat to our demographic dividend.
As we confront this, the Artificial Intelligence revolution is reshaping various aspects of our world. In an era where AI will redefine professions, the intrinsic human need for play and physical expression will be more vital than ever. While much of the discussion around AI in sports focuses on elite performance — shaving
milliseconds off records or refining professional tactics — its greatest potential is not at the peak of the pyramid.
The most transformative application of this technology is in empowering the many and addressing our national health crisis from the ground up. The core challenge is not a lack of motivation in our children, but a fierce competition for their attention. The digital world is engineered to capture attention through sophisticated feedback loops and rewards. Unstructured physical activity, despite its benefits, struggles to compete in this attention economy. The question, therefore, is not how we can fight technology, but how we can use its own language to win children back to the world of movement and play. How do we convert passive screen time into active play time?
This is where AI acts as a bridge, enabling us to merge the real world with the compelling feedback loops of the digital one. First, AI makes kinetic activity measurable and rewarding. Using the camera on any smartphone, it can understand movement, count repetitions, and analyse form. This allows us to build a system where a series of jumps earns points and a well-practiced skill “levels up.” Suddenly, physical effort has a visible, rewarding outcome. The screen is no longer just a destination for passive consumption; it becomes the scoreboard for real-world play.
This gamification is the key to closing the engagement gap and supports the national ambition, as outlined in the Khelo Bharat Niti — 2025, to transform sports into a true “People’s Movement.”
Second, AI democratises the two essential elements for development: knowledge and opportunity. For the individual child, AI acts as a “coach in your pocket,” providing immediate, personalised feedback on technique that was once accessible only in elite academies. This empowers every child with a sense of mastery, the most powerful driver of sustained engagement. For the ecosystem, AI’s objective analysis solves a deeper problem: the trust gap.
By replacing subjective opinion with objective data, AI builds the very kind of “robust talent identification and development system” envisioned by our national sports policy. It creates a system of true meritocracy, ensuring a talented athlete in a small town has the same opportunity to be seen and nurtured as one in a major city. This approach creates a virtuous cycle. By making play more engaging for all, we build a healthier, more active population. From this wider, more resilient base, a system built on trust and meritocracy can identify and nurture our next generation of champions. This foundational work is essential to build a truly Fit, Healthy, and Sporting Nation — a vision that will be critical in our bid to bring the 2036 Olympics to India. The true promise of AI is not just in refining the skills of the select few, but in enriching the kinetic lives of the many. It is about tackling our public health challenges at their root by making physical activity more compelling, and creating an equitable system where every child has the tools to discover their potential. This is how we harness the AI revolution, bridge the gap between the screen and the field, and empower India’s greatest asset, its youth, to take a kinetic leap forward.
The writer is Founder & CEO of Khiladi Pro