About Us

Jalaj Dani

President

Jalaj Dani, Co-promoter, Asian Paints Ltd and Director, Reliance Foundation.

Jalaj’s passion for sports is the driving force behind Sportscom, a not-for-profit apex industry body to promote the business of manufacturers of sports goods and service providers to the sports sector and make them, globally competitive. He is also the President of Sports, Physical Education, Fitness and Leisure Skills Council (SPEFL-SC).

Prior to this, Jalaj spent over two decades in various capacities including being responsible for Supply Chain and Chemicals business and spearheaded the Human Resources, Corporate Quality and Safety Functions at the group level at Asian Paints.

Currently, Jalaj serves as an Independent Director on Board of HDFC Limited and Havells India Limited, Director on Board of Reliance Foundation and Piramal Foundation and on Board of start-up technology company, Addverb Technologies Limited. He is also the Additional Director on the Board of IMG Reliance Limited.

He is also the Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors for Indian Institute of Management (Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu). He is also a member of Pradhan Mantri Kaushalya Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) Steering Committee, which functions under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India. He is a Trustee of Sir H N Hospital Trust and Tribhuvandas Foundation.

Vivek Singh

Senior Vice President

Vivek Singh is the Joint MD of Procam International. A graduate in economics from Bombay University, his business sense, eye for detail and hands on approach make him a respected leader of the sports industry. In existence since 1988, Procam International is a pioneer in the field of sports management. Procam has carved out a niche for itself as a company that does the impossible and does it well.

The Tata Mumbai Marathon (in the top 10 Marathons of the world), the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bangalore and the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K Run are some of the largest running events in the world today.

In addition to motivating thousands in India, to take on a healthier and fitter lifestyle, the Marathons have raised millions of Dollars for different charitable causes. They have underscored the fact that private commercial initiative and social interests are complementary.

In March 2017, Procam broke new ground with an unparalleled initiative – The NEXA P1 Powerboat Grand Prix of the Seas. Conducted in Mumbai at the Marine Drive bay – the event had the world’s best drivers and navigators racing P1 Panther boats inside a specially constructed racecourse on water. This heralded a new sporting paradigm in India and provided the world with a new racing format.

Procam is also involved in sports consultancy, Live Television production and player endorsement.

Viren Rasquinha

Vice President

Viren Rasquinha, the Former Captain of the Indian Hockey team, has represented India in 180 international Hockey Matches including the Athens Olympics 2004. He currently serves as the CEO of Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), a not-for-profit organization founded by legends themselves – Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone, with a mission to support Indian athletes to excel in the Olympics.

He was accorded with Arjuna Award for his excellent performance in Hockey in 2005. He then moved ahead to complete his MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad in 2009. In 2018, he was awarded the entitlement of ‘Top 40 under 40’ leaders in the country by the Economic Times. He is also serving as a member of PMO task force and was actively involved in preparing India’s plans for the next three Olympics to be held in 2020, 2024 & 2028.

Udit Sheth

Secretary

Udit Sheth, Founder & Managing Director of SE TransStadia PVT. LTD. – a sports company launched in 2009, is an alumnus of the Purdue University ‘02. A finance, operations & information technology graduate; his deep understanding of product design and development and his vision of bringing world-class urban sports infrastructure has fruitioned with India’s first PPP urban multisports infrastructure project, EKA Arena, in Ahmedabad going live in 2017.

In 2002, Udit joined the flagship family business, the BSE-listed Setco Automotive, a tier I supplier of clutches. In 2017, Udit was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of Setco Automotive. Along with key positions at TransStadia and Setco, Udit is also a Director at Lavacast; a fully automated cast iron foundry.

Over the last decade, Udit has dedicated his efforts towards making TransStadia a catalytic sports company in India enabling diverse revenue models, economic development, city branding, community and lifestyle

upliftment, and building the nation’s sports culture.

Vidushpat Singhania

Treasurer

Vidushpat Singhania is a registered advocate at Delhi Bar Council. He is a member of the Election Oversight Panel of World Athletics (IAAF). He is associated with Sportscom from its inception and has played a significant role in its formation. As a member of the Managing Committee of Sportscom, he addresses issues pertaining to sports governance, player rights, anti-doping, and dispute resolution.

Vidushpat has been developing and advocating for the laws and policies that govern sports in India for the past 10 years. Along with being the co-author of the book, ‘Law and Sports in India’, he was involved in drafting the National Sports Development Bill, the Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill and the Anti-Doping Bill 2018 for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. He has also assisted Justice Mudgal Doping Probe Committee and the National Sports Development Code Committee. He was the designated secretary of the committee appointed by the Supreme Court to probe fixing in the Indian Premier League.

He has also served as a member of the committee established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to consider the integration of sports within the higher education system. Besides that, he advises more than 6 sports leagues in India. He also represents sports players and federations in disputes pertaining to elections, selections, licensing, match manipulation and anti-doping. His work in the area of sports and governance is truly commendable.

Chandrajit Banerjee

Member

Chandrajit Banerjee is the Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). CII is India’s apex industry organisation, proactively enhancing the competitiveness of Indian industry.

Mr Banerjee has been with the CII for 32 years and has served as its Director General since 2008. In this post, he is responsible for the overall operations of CII.

Prior to his appointment as Director General, Mr Banerjee held several senior positions in CII in key areas including sectoral verticals of Manufacturing, Services, Agriculture and Life Sciences as well as the SME sector. He has also led CII’s policy work relating to macroeconomic policy, financial services and corporate governance.

He was the first Executive Director of the National Foundation of Corporate Governance (NFCG), an organization set up by the Government of India and continues to be Member of its Board of Trustees and Governing Council.

He also initiated the Centre of Excellence of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) in Bengaluru, a state-of-the-art centre for training, conventions and trade fairs.

He holds / has held Trusteeship and Board Member posts in many institutions:

● CII Foundation

● India@75 Foundation

● Institute of Economic Growth (IEG)

● Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA)

● Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST)

● Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM)

● World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Agenda Council of India

● Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC)

● Indian Institute of Management (IIM)

● Vice Chairman of the Asia Pacific Chapter of UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.

He is a Member of the Managing Committee of SPORTSCOM and Governing Council Member of Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC).

He is a Director on the Board at the “Invest India” set up by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Mr Banerjee is also a Director in the Singapore India Partnership Foundation (SIPF).

He is also secretary for bilateral CEOs Forums constituted by the Government of India with Australia, France, Russia, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Japan, Sweden, and South Africa, among others.

He has been honoured with the China-India Friendship Award by the Chinese Premier for his contributions towards the development of bilateral ties between India and China.

Mr Banerjee has been conferred with the decoration of “Knight Commander” by His Majesty the King of Spain in recognition of his meritorious achievements and exceptional contributions towards promoting relations between India and Spain.

He has been honoured with D. Phil Honoris Causa from Amity University.

Mr Banerjee is a Post-Graduate (MS) in Economics with specialisation in Economics of Planning and Econometrics from the University of Calcutta. Earlier, he did his Graduation from St. Xavier’s College (Calcutta) in Economics (Hons).

With 68 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 11 overseas offices in Australia, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, UAE, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 394 counterpart organizations in 133 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.

Gokul Manjeshwar

Member

Mr Gokul Manjeshwar holds a Masters degree in Commerce majoring in cost accounting and a Master’s degree in Management Studies majoring in Finance. He is an alumnus of the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. He has over 41 years of experience in industry and management consulting which includes a stint in the management consulting practice of Price Waterhouse (currently known as Price Waterhouse Coopers).

He worked in Asian Paints Limited, one of the top 10 paint companies in the world, for over 28 years and retired as its Financial Controller. He was also a director on the Board of Asian Paints’ listed and unlisted subsidiaries in Singapore, Jamaica, Thailand, Malaysia & U.K.

He is currently an Independent Corporate Advisor and advises corporates, sports entities and ‘not for profit’ organizations. He has mentored students of the post graduate program in Family Managed Business at the S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai. He is also an independent director.

Monalisa Barua Mehta

Member

Monalisa Barua Mehta is a Table Tennis champion from Assam. She is the Director of ELMS Sports Foundation. She also is the Dy. General Manager of Oil India Limited.

She has been awarded the “ARJUNA AWARD” for Table Tennis in 1987. She has also  been the Indian National Champion. She has won 1Gold & 3 Bronze Medals at SAF Games 1990 and Bronze Medal at Commonwealth Championships in 2008. She has also been coach of the Indian National team on several occasions.

Her contribution for the upliftment of Sportscom and its vision is truly commendable.

Pullela Gopichand

Member

Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian Badminton Player and current Chief national Coach for the Indian Badminton Team. He became only the second Indian to win the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001. He also runs a sports academy, that was founded by him in 2008 and is also recognized by the Badminton World Federation as a centre of excellence.

His countless achievements include winning several high-profile tournaments like the Scottish, Toulouse, and Austrian open while also finishing Runners – up at the French and German Open. He also stood victorious at the Indo – Asian Satellite Open, SAARC games in 1996 &1997, and at the Senior Nationals from 1997 to 2001. He also won two gold medals in the National Games in 1998 and achieved his career best world ranking of No. 5 in 2001.

He was awarded the Arjun Award in the year 2000, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in the year 2001, Padma Shri Award in the year 2005, Dronacharya Award in the year 2009 and Padma Bhushan Award in the year 2014 amongst many other awards.

After a major injury, he retired from being a practicing Badminton Player. Later, he took the charge as the Chief National Coach for Badminton Association of India in 2004. While Gopi inspired a generation of players to take up badminton during his playing days, as a coach, he has nurtured that generation into top class players like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, P Kashyap, Kidambi Srikanth to name a few. His academy also includes facilities like gymnasium, swimming pool, yoga hall, ice bath and steam rooms and cafeteria and so on. There are also top-class fitness trainers, masseurs and dieticians. Under his guidance, many Indian Badminton Players have won medals at Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Thomas and Uber Cup, Super Series, Gold Grand Prix and other National and International sports events.

His current responsibilities include working as Sr. Manager (LUBES) in Indian Oil Corporation; Secretary at Badminton Association of Telangana; President at Ranga Reddy District Badminton Association; Governing & Executive Council Member – SAI; Member of TOP Scheme for Olympic Performance; Ambassador of Magic Bus Foundation and Former Jury member of RTI Awards and Sahara India Sports Awards. His contributions continue to uplift the sports scenario of India on a global scale.

Neeraj Jain

Member

Mr.  Neeraj Jain, is a qualified Engineer and M.B.A with Masters in Polymer Science from London Met, U.K. He has vast experience of Business Management including area of new Product Development in the Sports industry.

He is a Whole Time Director of Cosco (India) Limited, since 1998,  a Listed Company, one of the Top Manufacturer and Exporter of Inflatable balls and health leisure and lifestyle products.

Mr. Neeraj heads the marketing and commercial relationship management of the Company. He has a rich experience of more than 25 years in Sports and Rubber Industry.

He is a  strong believer of   the power of design and brands to create commercial value and social impact of COSCO brand at global level and is instrumental in making strategic decisions for the Company.

Besides this, Mr. Jain is an executive member of Sports Sector Skill Council (SPEFL-SC).

Kamlesh Mehta

Member

Kamlesh Mehta is the Director of UTT (Ultimate Table Tennis). He has been a part of the sports industry for the past 40 years as a player, coach, commentator & administrator. He has been actively involved with Sportscom in the capacity of Secretary since its inception.

He has a grand legacy in the field of sports, especially Table Tennis. He is an 8-time National Champion in Table tennis. He also won the Arjuna Award for Table Tennis in 1985. He has also represented our country three times in the Olympics.

As the director of UTT, he has been involved in the promotion & development of the game of Table Tennis in India through various laterals like Professional International League- UTT, city & state level leagues; Pan India inter-school program covering 28 states; supporting federations & ranking events; supporting and promoting academies for nurturing champions; encouraging coaches; broad basing sports by taking it to Mumbai Municipal Schools’ children in a systematic manner.

Kamlesh Mehta has also served as the Vice President & Chairman of the selection committee of Maharashtra State Table Tennis Association and as the Chairman of the Mumbai Suburban Table Tennis Association. As the Secretary of Sportscom, he continues his devoted contribution towards the betterment of the sports industry in India as well as the world.

Rajan Navani

Member

Rajan Navani is the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of the diversified Jetline Group of Companies, the roots of which originate back to the 1930’s in Bangkok, Thailand and a presence in India since 1974.

Rajan is currently the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s CII National Council on India@75, Founder Chairman of the CII National Council on Future Business, the Past National Chairman of CII Young Indians and a member of CII’s National Council. Rajan is a founding trustee of the India@75 Foundation, through which he is working with multiple stakeholders, including government, corporates and civil society in helping build a Dream India by 2022, seventy-five years since its independence. He is a global board member of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) and a member of the Purdue-India Executive Council. He is the first National President of the recently constituted Indian Digital Gaming Society and is also a trustee of Aspen’s Ananta Centre in India, a fellow of the Aspen India Leadership Initiative 2011–2012 and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, the world’s foremost group on values-based leadership across all walks of life. He is also a BMW Herbert Quandt Foundation’s Young World Leader, a CNBC India’s Young Turk and part of the ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum.

With a vision to play a key role in the digital lives of 1.3 billion Indians, the group has recently made significant investments and is building new age businesses in powering varied consumer-facing digital platforms, products and services through group company ‘Jetsynthesys’. Rajan is personally providing leadership and strategic direction to the company with operations in India, MENA, SE Asia, UK, Japan and USA. The group now has operational businesses in new age digital media, entertainment and in categories including short format video & music, OTT, gaming, classifieds, cricket, mobility, mindfulness and healthcare. The group is also building artificial intelligence, blockchain and AR/VR/MR/XR led Industry 4.0 solutions to strengthen enterprises globally. Additionally, through the combination of Jet Ventures & JetLabs, powered by ‘Garage’, the group is engaging deeply with the startup ecosystem in India, Israel, Singapore, UK, Japan & USA.

Prasanna Choudhari

Member

Prasanna Choudhari is the Joint Managing Director and Co-founder of Nutra Supplements, a pioneer in manufacturing dope-free sports supplements.

An engineer by profession, Prasanna developed his interest in sports and sports nutrition, after his son, Varad, had few health challenges as a small kid.  This interest in sports and sports nutrition over years has become his passion and also a profession!

Prasanna has vast experience in this field and is currently working closely with, and is a part, of major governing bodies which are striving for Clean Sports in India and abroad.  He is Working closely with FSSAI, Army Sports Control Board, Sports Departments of various State Governments for formulating Dope Free Supplements policy.  He is Founder President of Wheelchair Basketball Association, Maharashtra.  He also is Director – Integrated Sports Science Research Association.  Prasanna is also Director -Sports Science Committee– International Rollball Federation.  Mr. Choudhari is also Chapter President of very prestigious US India Importers Council.

Apart from shouldering these responsibilities, he is also associated with Times Group for Conferences of Sports Science and Nutrition.  He is member of prestigious International Society of Sports Nutrition.  He has been closely working for promotion of wheelchair basketball and is sports science committee member of Indian Wheelchair Basketball Association. Prasanna is life member of Indian Association of Sports Medicine.

Prasanna, apart from Sports Nutrition, is also expert in general wellness and his passion and expertise has lead his company, Nutra Supplements into manufacturing of array of products catering to the nutritional needs of cancer patients, special children, women and child nutrition, adolescent girls, tribal nutrition, and supplements to boost immunity in the current Covid-19 patients too.  Prasanna also is currently also actively involved in relatively new branch of nutrition i.e. Cosmetic Nutrition.

Rishikesh Joshi

Member

Rishikesh Joshi is the Founder & MD of SFA Sporting Services Pvt Ltd.

Rishikesh has close to 30 years of experience in the sports industry, first as a national level swimmer and a multi-sport athlete, and then as a sports administrator. He worked in professional sport in various capacities for over 15 years before founding Sports For All (SFA) in 2015. His 7 year stint with the IPL Franchisee Mumbai Indians was instrumental in shaping his career.

SFA aspires to be India’s Largest Sports Ed-Tech platform with the focus is to attract young aspiring children to sport at an early age. The aim is to build a vibrant school sports culture by way of a professional and high quality competition platform both on-ground and online (Phygital) thereby ensuring a high quality, professional sporting experience accessible to children from all strata of society across all disciplines of sport.

Since it’s inception in 2015, SFA has been instrumental in radically transforming the sporting experience of school level athletes. In a short span of 5 years it has successfully hosted 8 Mega Scale SFA Championships across 28 sporting disciplines thereby propelling India’s growth on the Global Sporting Map.

Ab Jeetega India!

Gagan Narang

Member

Gagan Narang, London 2012 Olympic Medallist, is a former World rank No. 1 Air Rifle Shooting athlete. He is also the co-founder of Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation, involved in the domain of athlete development & coach development in the Olympic sport of shooting. It currently operates over 11 not for profit academies across India. His achievements include representing India at Olympics 4 consecutive times, 15 Commonwealth & Asian game medals, being a world record holder amongst many other medals at National & International stage.

He has been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award, Khel Ratna Award & Padma Shri Award. In the year 2019, through his Foundation, he was awarded the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for its work towards identifying and nurturing budding talent.

He started his foundation in 2011 , a year before he won the Olympic medal, to create opportunities for athletes to learn and develop in the sport and broad base the sport across India. His foundation has scouted over 45,000 children across states and quite a few of them are performing exceptionally well at National and International stage. He is mentor and coach to current World Rank No. 1 Air Rifle Women athlete who will be representing India at the Tokyo Olympics.

He is current responsibilities include working as DGM in Air India, Member of High-Performance Committee overseeing India’s preparation for 2024 & 2028 Olympics and Khelo India High Performance Committee. His passion other than sports in wildlife photography and he is actively involved in projects surrounding wildlife conservation in India.