India plans national sports medicine framework for preventive athlete care

India plans to build a national sports medicine framework that will shift athlete care from a fragmented, injury-driven system to a preventive model, as the country prepares for a possible 2036 Olympic Games bid.

The proposed framework is expected to standardise injury screening, diagnosis, rehabilitation and return-to-play protocols while linking medical institutions with athlete training programmes and creating a national repository on sports injury data, people aware of the deliberations told ET.

"This is expected to reduce injury burden and aid in faster recovery, improve athlete availability and training continuity, enhance performance outcomes and Olympic preparedness while also strengthening athlete welfare and their long-term career sustainability," one of the persons said.

The government is considering a phased rollout of this framework by 2028, and the proposal could find a mention in the union budget 2027-28. India's sporting ecosystem is currently fragmented, with related ministries of health and education working in silos, inconsistent protocols, limited access to sports medicine doctors, team physicians and sport-specific rehabilitation expertise and a lack of national data repository on sports injuries.

NITI Aayog had last week convened a meeting of the expert group on sports science in India under M Srinivas, member (health), to deliberate on developing a cohesive, evidence-based, and athlete-centric sports science ecosystem in India, aimed at improving the country's medal tally at international sporting events.

Top officials of the ministry of youth affairs and sports, ministry of health and family welfare, ministry of ayush, the Indian Council of Medical research, the Sports Authority of India, among others, attended the meeting.