Why Indian Kids Are Burning Out In Sports And How To Fix It | Sports Education In India

Are We Killing the Joy of Play? Are we pushing kids too hard, too soon? In this episode of Game Play Sport, Arvind, Kailash and Rahul talk with Chelston Pinto about why India’s sports education system needs more unstructured play and age-appropriate training and how Indian kids are burning out and what needs to be done to fix it.

Discover how the National Education Policy puts sports at the heart of schooling, why early specialization can harm kids, and what even Neeraj Chopra’s injuries teach us about overtraining. Learn how schools, parents and workplaces can create spaces for kids to run, climb and kick — and make movement a lifelong habit.

The episode also explores the Long-Term Athlete Development model — starting with pure movement and fun in the early years (0–6), building fundamental strength and coordination (6–9), and only then introducing structured, non-competitive play after 10. He explains why boys and girls need separate training post-puberty as they peak at different ages and develop differently.

Early sports specialization — especially without a foundation of unstructured play — can lead to injuries, burnout and even kids walking away from sports altogether. Watch “Are We Killing the Joy of Play?" and find out how to raise healthier, happier kids here.

Special thanks to Chelston Pinto for the interview.

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Credits: Akshay Ramuhalli, Bruce Lee Mani, Gorveck Thokchom, Kishor Mandal, Kruthika Rao, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Ram Seshadri, Sananda Dasgupta, Sanoob Puliyanchali, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar.