RIL sees sports as an important contribution to nation-building

Sundar Raman has been responsible for the consolidation and integration of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)’S sports portfolio for over three years. RIL is one of India’s largest investors in sports with over ~1,000 crore direct and indirect investments since 2007. Raman, RIL’S chief executive for sports, spoke to Vidhi Choudhary about the evolution of the sporting league ecosystem. Edited Excerpts:

What is RIL’S vision for sports?

RIL’S non-executive director , Nita Ambani’s vision of building India into a multisport country has been gathering momentum. She is personally involved in guiding the entire organisation towards building a sporting culture across disciplines. Our target and effort are to make India proud at international events. We are interested in delivering what is right for India in terms of growing the sports culture. A large part of our effort is spent in the grassroots development, providing adequate quality infrastructure to people and putting together a platform for young Indians to shine, play, participate, and excel. That is the vision that Mrs Ambani has carved out.

What prompted RIL to support sports in such a big way?

It comes from the top. Both , RIL chairman and managing director, Mr Mukesh Ambani and Mrs Ambani have been deep and passionate sports lovers. They believe that sport is not just something that you play. It is something that inculcates life lessons. India has the potential and the ability to stand tall with the rest of the world in any discipline. There is no reason why we should be lagging behind in any international sporting disciplines. Their vision has been a big motivator for everybody to push the envelope of sports… Reliance sees this as an important contribution to nation building.

Will this impact the popularity of cricket or the IPL?

Lots of sports are learning from the

early models that the IPL created. There is a substantive influx of both investments from corporate; be it private investment or corporate social responsibility funds that are going into sports development. The multiplicity of sports can coexist in a large market like India. It is in the interest of everybody that each of these sports grows. It is too soon to look at this as if we are cannibalising from one sport to another. There are no restrictions or glass ceilings.

Will all sporting leagues in India be able to ride the wave of popularity? Will their economics be sustainable?

Sporting leagues have been a good story. During the early days of IPL, there were doubts whether this will work: Mumbai playing Delhi, Kolkata playing against Bangalore. Even domestic cricket at that time was not very well followed. Every sport has its set of unique challenges and has a gestation period. It is very important not to judge the success of a sport by short term goals or a short term evaluation of what it generates. A sport requires a lot of time specifically towards building Indian talent. And most of these sports… are admired by and watched by the public in large numbers is if Indian athletes start performing well.

The economic viability and sustainability will pan out in normal course whether it is a few years to five years to 10 years. The league ecosystem is doing a good thing for Indian sport by reaching many athletes and helping them make a living out of these sports which they love to play.

The increased level of broadcast coverage, the ability to see your kid, nephew or niece perform, is encouraging more people to take up sports. The facilities and coaching structures are improving. It is giving a reassurance that sport does not come at the cost of education.