NE SPORTS BUREAU
MUMBAI, SEPT 1
A medal may belong to an athlete, but the ecosystem behind that medal belongs to an entire sporting nation—and Axis Bank is betting on that ecosystem. As India celebrates National Sports Day 2026, Axis Bank is spotlighting its growing role in the country’s sporting landscape, having supported more than 1,100 athletes, para-athletes, coaches and other sports professionals in less than three years through partnerships with leading institutions across Indian sport.
Since launching its first sports-focused CSR programme in FY 2024-25, the bank has expanded its approach beyond conventional athlete sponsorship, combining training and talent development with sports science, sports medicine, nutrition, competition exposure and world-class sporting infrastructure.
- 1,100+ athletes, para-athletes, coaches and sports professionals supported in less than three years
- 14 of 20 OGQ-supported athletes struck medals at Glasgow Commonwealth Games, including nine golds
- 560 young judokas training in Manipur as women’s talent gets a special high-performance pathway
- Sports science, medicine, nutrition and international exposure move to the heart of athlete development
- High-performance centres in shooting, sports science and archery aim to create infrastructure for generations
- From nurturing champions to building sporting ecosystems, Axis Bank expands its National Sports Day commitment
The ambition is increasingly long-term: not merely to help athletes win medals today, but to create the ecosystem capable of producing champions tomorrow.
Glasgow medals put support system under the spotlight
The timing of this year’s National Sports Day is particularly significant, coming after India’s impressive performance at the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where the country won 39 medals, including 13 golds.
Among the athletes supported through Axis Bank’s partnership with Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), 14 of 20 secured medals for India across four sports, including nine gold medals.
The results offer a striking illustration of how sustained support—from coaching and sports science to nutrition, physiotherapy and competition exposure—can strengthen the pathway from potential to podium.
Since 2024-25, Axis Bank has supported OGQ, one of India’s prominent high-performance sports development programmes, in partnership with the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games (FPSG).
In FY 2025-26 alone, OGQ supported 468 athletes and para-athletes across 11 Olympic and nine Paralympic disciplines, providing access to coaching, sports science, nutrition, physiotherapy, competition exposure and other support services. The programme also supports emerging talent through academies.
“Sport has the power to inspire, unite and shape aspirations”
The bank’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that sporting success extends well beyond the medal tally.
Vijay Mulbagal, Group Head – Wholesale Bank Coverage, Corporate Salary, Sustainability & CSR, Axis Bank, said:
“Sport has the power to inspire, unite and shape the aspirations of an entire nation. It goes beyond just performance or winning medals; it helps build resilience, foster discipline, and develop character especially among children and youth. Through partnerships with leading sports organisations across Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, the bank aims to create greater opportunities for emerging talent and top athletes while building infrastructure that can serve Indian sport over the long term.”
The statement captures the changing nature of India’s sporting support system, where high performance increasingly depends on a multidisciplinary ecosystem rather than coaching alone.
Manipur’s young judokas get a national platform
One of the most distinctive elements of the initiative is its focus on women’s judo talent in Manipur, a state with a strong tradition of producing judokas.
The Axis Bank Judo Development Programme, implemented in partnership with the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), currently trains 560 young judokas in Manipur.
Among them are 47 promising female athletes receiving fully residential scholarships and advanced training at IIS in Karnataka.
The programme combines structured coaching with competition exposure, sports science and international training opportunities, creating a more comprehensive development pathway for young athletes.
Its impact is already visible on the international stage. Linthoi Chanambam became the first Indian judoka to win a medal at the Junior World Championships, achieving the landmark feat at the 2025 edition in Lima, Peru.
At the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, judokas Yamini Mourya, who won silver in the women’s 57kg category, and Unnati Sharma, who secured bronze in the women’s 63kg category, also represented the programme’s growing pipeline of talent.
From shooting ranges to sports science labs
Axis Bank’s sports strategy is also moving into infrastructure—an investment designed to outlast individual competitions and athletes.
In Navi Mumbai, the bank has partnered with Lakshya Shooting Club to establish the Axis Bank Lakshya Shooting Club High Performance Centre, a dedicated shooting facility designed to serve as an integrated hub for talent identification, athlete development, elite performance training and community engagement.
In Bengaluru, its partnership with the GoSports Foundation has led to the establishment of the Axis Bank-GoSports Foundation The Performance Institute (AGTPI) at the Centre for Sports Excellence.
The institute is designed to strengthen India’s domestic capabilities in sports science, sports medicine, research and innovation—areas increasingly critical to elite performance and injury prevention.
Rural India gets an Olympic-scale archery ambition
The infrastructure push is extending beyond major urban sporting centres.
Axis Bank has recently partnered with the Sanjeeva Singh Archery Institute Trust (SSAIT) to establish the Axis Bank Sanjeeva Singh Olympic Archery Centre at Deoria in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Envisioned as the first fully integrated Olympic-standard archery centre in rural India, the facility is planned as a single-campus ecosystem bringing together world-class training infrastructure, sports science, residential facilities and education.
The concept is significant because India’s next generation of Olympic talent may not necessarily emerge from metropolitan sporting hubs. Bringing high-performance facilities closer to rural and emerging talent pools could widen the country’s sporting pipeline.
The bigger game: Building the ecosystem behind the champion
Axis Bank’s National Sports Day message therefore goes beyond celebrating India’s medal winners.
Its portfolio of initiatives points towards a broader model in which athlete development, scientific training, women’s participation, grassroots talent identification and long-term infrastructure converge.
For a country aspiring to transform sporting potential into sustained international success, the challenge is not simply finding the next champion. It is ensuring that the champion has access to the coach, physiotherapist, nutritionist, sports scientist, training facility, competition exposure and support system needed to reach the podium.
That is where the significance of Axis Bank’s 1,100-plus athlete and professional support lies.
On National Sports Day, the bank and its partners are saluting India’s athletes, coaches, mentors and sporting professionals—but the more consequential message is perhaps this:
India’s sporting future will be won not only on the field, but also in the systems being built behind it.
