India, Aug. 29 -- For too long, Indian sport has relied on flashes of individual brilliance. The foundational ecosystem of talent identification, coaching, grassroots facilities and governance remained neglected. Against this backdrop, and that of the National Sports Day (August 29), it is worth taking a look at the potential of the National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025. The policy is an attempt to fix the plumbing. It treats sport not as a sideshow but as being essential to a healthy, confident, and competitive India. By setting clear targets, aligning incentives across ministries and inviting private capital into the game, it recognises that medals are lag indicators of deeper systems. In doing so, it reframes sport as a tool for public health, education reform, and soft power. To appreciate why this shift is overdue, we need to revisit the arc of Indian sport since Independence. When India became independent in 1947, sport was more theatre than policy. The first decade was gilded by hockey's golden run of six consecutive Olympic golds between 1928 and 1956. However, that dominance masked the absence of systems. Cricket's 1983 World Cup win brought a surge of national pride, yet it also cemented the disproportionate attention and resources channelled to a single sport. The 1982 Asian Games in Delhi briefly showcased what central planning, infrastructure spending and global exposure could achieve. Stadiums were built, volunteers trained, and urban transport upgraded - but the momentum faded as the Games ended. In the 1990s, liberalisation brought television, corporate sponsorships and professionalism to cricket, while other sports languished in underfunded federations plagued by governance issues. There were flashes of resilience, like Karnam Malleswari's weightlifting bronze in Sydney 2000, Rajyavardhan Rathore's shooting silver in Athens 2004, Abhinav Bindra's historic gold in Beijing 2008, all achieved despite, and not because of, the system. The 2010 Commonwealth Games left behind world-class infrastructure, yet corruption allegations overshadowed the gains. The 2016 Rio Olympics exposed gaps in athlete preparation, support staff quality and grassroots talent pipelines. Recent initiatives like Khelo India and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) have begun to systematise talent scouting and athlete funding. But the absence of a unifying vision meant these remained islands of excellence in a sea of mediocrity. Earlier sports policies collapsed under their own ambition. They read like mission statements with grand objectives but lacking resources to enforce. They were marred by fragmented mechanisms to align sporting federations, State, and capital. Governance was porous, execution patchy, and success anecdotal. Federations remained opaque fiefdoms, the private sector acted like cheque-writers, tech was an afterthought; and outcomes were rarely measured with the consistency required to drive continuous improvement. NSP 2025, on the other hand, rests on five pillars: Excellence on the Global Stage, Sports for Economic Development, Sports for Social Development, Sports as a People's Movement, and Integration with Education (NEP 2020). But unlike past efforts, this policy does not confuse intention with execution. It proposes a legal and regulatory framework to enforce governance standards. Models like Australia's AusCycling merger in 2020 - hailed by experts like Marne Fechner as "one of the largest governance reforms in sport" - show what's possible when institutional entropy is addressed head-on. On funding, NSP 2025 responds to a maturing sports startup ecosystem in India. Sports-tech startups raised over $139 million between 2014-2022, with 2025 alone seeing over $9.5 million in the first half. Companies like KhiladiPro, which recently secured $1 million in funding, are proof that private capital is ready - if public frameworks can de-risk and scale their impact. Technology, once a nice-to-have, is now a multiplier. Tools built for elite athletes are now powering AI-based health monitoring, predictive injury recovery systems, and even education performance dashboards. Investing in sports technology is investing in national productivity infrastructure. And for the first time, there's a National Monitoring Framework. Drawing from successes like the Output Outcome Monitoring Framework (OOMF) and the Public Finance Monitoring System (PFMS) in social-sector programmes, NSP 2025 sets clear key performance indicators, dashboards, and time-bound targets that bring rigour and transparency to every rupee spent. NSP 2025's pan-government architecture makes it structurally different. It is not just the youth affairs and sports ministry mouthing buzzwords. The policy integrates sport into education, health, tourism, manufacturing, governance, and urban planning. That holistic thread makes sports a functional lever of nation-building. Ultimately, policies don't succeed because of what's written. They succeed because of who owns them. And while the new NSP may be authored in Delhi, it will be delivered - or derailed - in the states. The real field of play is the school playground in Sikar, the girls' training centre in Dantewada, the indoor hall in Imphal. Unless states adopt, adapt and embed this policy within their own machinery - aligning budgets, staff and metrics - the most elegantly written strategy will remain in a file. The Centre can provide the framework, but it is the states that control infrastructure, school education and local sports promotion. Globally, nations have used sport to sculpt national identity, attract investment, and catalyse change. NSP 2025 embraces this thinking. It positions sport as a tool of soft power, industrial acceleration and human development. It sees sport not as recreation, but as an economic and social engine by fuelling entrepreneurship, health, inclusion and innovation. It encourages India to envision not just hosting tournaments but also earning global admiration for how a country of 1.4 billion institutionalises excellence....