Game Play Sport with Rahul, Arvind, and Kailash

Radio Azim Premji University
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From gully cricket to gym bros, fan meltdowns to vanishing playgrounds—Game Play Sport unpacks how India plays, pauses, and powers through. Hosted by Rahul De and Arvind Bharathi BN from Azim Premji University, and Kailash Koushik from Christ University, this new series explores how our ideas of game, play, and sport are evolving. What do they mean in today’s India? Who gets to participate, and how do trends in fitness, infrastructure, and fandom shape our everyday relationship with movement?

  1. 3 Sports Hosts vs 10 Students: Is India Chasing the Wrong Sports Goals? | Surrounded

    12/10/2025

    3 Sports Hosts vs 10 Students: Is India Chasing the Wrong Sports Goals? | Surrounded

    Is India chasing the right dream when it comes to sports — or have we lost our way? In this explosive finale of Game Play Sport on Radio Azim Premji University, our 3 sports hosts Rahul De, Arvind Bharathi B N & Kailash Kaushik take on ten outspoken students in a high-stakes, Jubilee-style Surrounded debate. From malls replacing playgrounds to Esports players being called athletes, this episode unpacks the biggest ideological battles shaping India’s sporting culture today. 🔥 Debates Inside the Episode Malls Over Maidaans: Are we trading childhood play for consumerism? One Gold Medalist vs a Billion Active People: What counts as national success? Medals Over Motion: Why are young athletes burning out? Esports: Athletes, addicts, or the future of Indian sport? This is not just about games. It’s about public health, youth identity, and whether India values movement or medals more. Special thanks to all the students of Azim Premji University who participated! Featuring Rahul De • Arvind Bharathi • Kailash Kaushik ✨ A Radio Azim Premji University Original 👇 Comment below: Are we building a healthier nation — or just chasing podiums?

    1h 3m
  2. Olympics & India: What’s Holding Our Athletes Back? | Game Play Sport

    11/25/2025

    Olympics & India: What’s Holding Our Athletes Back? | Game Play Sport

    India competes across the world — at the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and countless individual tournaments — with delegations far smaller than its population and talent pool suggest. The real issue isn’t performance. It’s the harsh, uneven journey that pushes most young athletes out long before they enter any official system. In this episode of Game Play Sport, we follow the story of Raziya Khan, midfielder for Odisha FC, who first discovered football when Teach For India fellows brought the sport into her school. Her earliest memory is of playing football with a bottle filled with stones — a symbol of how little infrastructure existed, and how much imagination was required to dream. From there, Raziya travelled hours every day to reach practice, balanced schoolwork with training, and carried the emotional load of wanting something her environment wasn’t designed to support. Her journey mirrors what athletes in individual sports face too — from runners training before sunrise, to wrestlers and boxers commuting long distances, to badminton and athletics hopefuls fighting for basic access. We explore why India sends small teams to global events, why many talented children leave sport before they ever compete, and what it would take to build a sporting pipeline worthy of India’s size and ambition. Watch the full episode and rethink the journey behind every athlete we celebrate. #IndianSports #Olympics #AsianGames #CommonwealthGames #WorldChampionships #RaziyaKhan #OdishaFC #WomenInSport #IndividualSports #FootballIndia #TeachForIndia #SportsAccess #SportsForChange #AzimPremjiUniversity

    52 min
  3. Can India Become a Global Esports Powerhouse?

    10/23/2025

    Can India Become a Global Esports Powerhouse?

    India is home to over half a billion gamers — from PUBG to Valorant, from mobile cricket to FIFA — yet still struggles to find its footing in the global esports arena. In this episode of Game Play Sport, Aravind, Kailash, and Rahul sit down with Ram Seshadri, producer and avid gamer, and Sudhen Wahengbam,esports commentator, to explore why India’s massive gaming population hasn’t translated into world-class esports success. The discussion journeys through India’s unique gaming culture — from cyber cafés to the era of mobile dominance — and asks tough questions: Why do micro-transaction models that work elsewhere fail here? How did the Waves OTT Summit and the Asian Games put esports on the national map? And what can India learn from countries like Brazil, Denmark, and South Korea, where esports athletes like FalleN are celebrated like traditional sports heroes? Ram unpacks the landscape of modern esports — fighter games,first person shooter games,, battle royales, sports games, multiplayer online battle arena (MUBA), and real-time strategy games — explaining why India’s fragmented digital infrastructure and low per-user spending make sustainability difficult. Sudhen reflects on perception and policy: how parental anxiety, uneven regulation, and limited institutional backing hold the ecosystem back. Yet both see hope in the mobile gaming revolution, where India already leads the world in downloads. Watch “Can India Become a Global Esports Powerhouse?” and discover what it will take for India to turn play into purpose, and gamers into athletes. Special thanks to Ram Seshadri and Sudhen Wahengbam for the interviews. Special thanks to Ram Seshadri and Sudhen Wahengbam for the interviews. Discover more shows in English, Hindi, and Kannada: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/radio-azim-premji-university Follow us on Instagram: @radioazimpremjiuniv 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.

    40 min
  4. Harsh Reality of India’s Gambling Crisis | The Future of Real Money Gaming Explained

    10/07/2025

    Harsh Reality of India’s Gambling Crisis | The Future of Real Money Gaming Explained

    Dream11’s fall has reignited a major debate in India’s gaming world — is it skill or gambling? With the new Online Gaming Act 2025 being passed, the government is redrawing boundaries around real money gaming, raising crucial questions for players, companies, and policymakers alike. In this episode of Game Play Sport by Radio Azim Premji University, we explore: What the Online Gaming Act 2025 really means Why Dream11’s fall changed the real money gaming landscape How to distinguish gaming vs gambling in India’s digital era The future of fantasy sports, e-gaming, and play for profit 🎧 A deep dive into ethics, law, and the economics of play in India. #Dream11 #OnlineGamingBill #RealMoneyGaming #GamblingVsGaming #FantasySports #MPL #OnlineGamingIndia #DigitalIndia #SportsEconomy #GamePlaySport #RadioAzimPremjiUniversity #GamingInIndia #GamingRegulation #India2025

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

    09/24/2025

    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. Discover more shows in English, Hindi, and Kannada: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/radio-azim-premji-university Follow us on Instagram: @radioazimpremjiuniv 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.

    25 min
  6. From Kasparov to Gukesh: India, Chess, and the Rise of AI | Game Play Sport

    09/09/2025

    From Kasparov to Gukesh: India, Chess, and the Rise of AI | Game Play Sport

    From Brute Force to AI Models: How Chess Learned to Play Smarter In 1997, the chess world shook when Garry Kasparov lost to IBM’s Deep Blue — a brute-force machine built to calculate millions of moves per second. Fast forward to today, and AI has moved beyond raw calculation to self-learning models like AlphaZero that teach themselves strategy. In this episode of Game Play Sport, guest Kedar Kulkarni takes us through the journey of chess and AI — how a 1,500-year-old game didn’t die when machines became stronger, but instead adapted, evolved, and even became more popular. What can other sports learn from this? Can cricket, football, or even esports embrace AI in the same way? Watch the full episode and discover how AI is rewriting the rules of the game #Chess #ArtificialIntelligence #Kasparov #DeepBlue #AlphaZero #Stockfish #SportsAndAI #GamePlaySport #AIFuture #ChessHistory

    22 min
  7. India’s Vanishing Playgrounds: Public vs Private Sports Spaces | Game Play Sport Podcast

    08/19/2025

    India’s Vanishing Playgrounds: Public vs Private Sports Spaces | Game Play Sport Podcast

    Where Will Children Play? The Future of Indian Sport Across Indian cities, children are running out of places to play. Grounds are being built over, parks restrict ball games, and schools often skip playgrounds altogether. At the same time, private academies are flourishing—raising performance levels but also putting access behind a fee. In this episode of Game Play Sport, hosts Rahul, Arvind and Kailash are joined by Manuja Veerappa, senior sports journalist with The Times of India. Together, they explore the disappearance of playing spaces in Bengaluru, the rise of private academies, and what these shifts say about India’s sporting priorities. Can India protect play for all—or will it belong only to those who can pay? Watch the full episode now!

    23 min
  8. Is India’s Sports Pay Gap Finally Closing? | Game Play Sport

    08/05/2025

    Is India’s Sports Pay Gap Finally Closing? | Game Play Sport

    In this episode of Game Play Sport, we dive into the evolving story of India’s sports pay gap—how the difference in salaries and prize money between male and female athletes is finally starting to close. From the BCCI’s landmark equal pay announcements for women cricketers to the growing visibility of female athletes in badminton, wrestling, and football, we break down why this shift matters for gender equality in Indian sports today. We are joined by Aradhana and Shravanti Mokashi — sisters, former state-level badminton players, and now coaches — who’ve spent decades navigating the realities of being women in a space still dominated by men. We also unpack: What Is the Gender Pay Gap in Indian Sports & Why Did It Persist So Long? The Rise of Women’s Sports Sponsorship and Corporate Support The Influence of Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta & Ashwini Ponnappa In Shaping The Next Generation of Female Athletes The Economics Behind Equal Pay: Can It Last? Watch this eye-opening discussion on gender equality, pay parity, and the challenges still ahead for women athletes in India. From cricket to the Olympics, discover how India is leading the way toward true sports pay equality—and what it means for the next decade of Indian athletes.

    20 min
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About

From gully cricket to gym bros, fan meltdowns to vanishing playgrounds—Game Play Sport unpacks how India plays, pauses, and powers through. Hosted by Rahul De and Arvind Bharathi BN from Azim Premji University, and Kailash Koushik from Christ University, this new series explores how our ideas of game, play, and sport are evolving. What do they mean in today’s India? Who gets to participate, and how do trends in fitness, infrastructure, and fandom shape our everyday relationship with movement?

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