News18 India to host Jazba sports conclave in Delhi on September 18

MUMBAI: The scoreboard may show who won, but News18 India’s upcoming Jazba: Jadon Se Shikhar Tak wants to tell the story of everything it took to get there. The Hindi news channel is set to host the first edition of the national sports platform in Delhi on September 18, bringing together sportspersons, policymakers, administrators, industry leaders and experts to discuss the people and systems shaping Indian sport.

Positioned as more than a conventional sports conclave, Jazba will look beyond medals and match results to the journeys behind them, early-morning training sessions, years of preparation, setbacks, comebacks and the support systems that help athletes reach the top.

The event will put athletes, coaches, families, academies, institutions and policymakers in the same conversation, examining how India can strengthen the sporting ecosystem around its champions. Grassroots development, sports infrastructure, Olympic ambitions, sports policy, innovation and the expanding sports economy will form key themes across the discussions.

The platform will also bring together sporting icons, emerging achievers, para-athletes and grassroots sporting figures, creating space for perspectives that often sit outside the final scorecard.

Among the political and policy voices scheduled to participate are Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India; Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs; Anurag Thakur, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports; and Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, AVSM (Retd.), Minister for Industry & Commerce, IT & Communication, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs & Sports and Sainik Welfare, Government of Rajasthan.

The line-up also includes Shreyasi Singh, Minister of Industries & Sports, Government of Bihar, and Gaurav Gautam, Minister of State for Youth Empowerment & Entrepreneurship and Sports, Law & Legislative Affairs, Haryana.

The sporting fraternity will be represented by names from cricket, hockey, wrestling, boxing, athletics, Mallakhamb and para-sports.

Dilip Tirkey, President of Hockey India, former captain of the Indian hockey team and an Olympian, is among the speakers, alongside former hockey player and Arjuna Awardee Ashok Dhyanchand.

Former Indian cricketer Ishant Sharma, Olympic wrestling medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, former India men’s hockey captain Sardara Singh, former cricketer and 1983 World Cup winner Sandeep Patil, former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra, and Jammu & Kashmir senior men’s cricket captain Paras Dogra are also part of the line-up.

Boxing will be represented by former Indian boxer, Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Akhil Kumar, while former athlete, Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Ashwini Nachappa will bring an athletics perspective through her work with Ashwini’s Sports Foundation.

Former India women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, who has received the Padma Shri, Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, is also scheduled to participate.

The event will further feature Uday Vishwanath Deshpande, Indian Mallakhamb coach and Padma Shri Awardee, along with para-sport voices including Paralympian Deepa Malik, a Khel Ratna, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient.

Para shot put athletes Shubham Juyal and Sharmila Dhankar, both Commonwealth Games 2026 medallists, are also part of the speaker line-up.

Jyoti Kamal, Managing Editor, News18 India, said Indian sport is at an important juncture, with strong performances and growing interest in sport accompanied by the need for wider opportunities and stronger support for athletes.

She said Jazba would bring voices from across the sporting world together to examine what is driving the changes in Indian sport and what would be required to sustain them.

The conversations will also focus on encouraging participation among young people and learning from the different experiences across the sporting ecosystem.

Mitul Sangani, CEO, Indian Language Cluster and News18 Digital at Network18, said sporting stories deserved attention beyond the scoreboard.

He said the platform would examine the challenges behind sporting success as well as the changing sports economy, while giving young people more reasons and opportunities to participate in sport.

The event’s agenda reflects how India’s sporting conversation has expanded beyond elite competition. While Olympic ambitions and athlete performance remain central, grassroots development, infrastructure, policy, technology and commercial opportunities increasingly influence how sporting careers and ecosystems are built.

Jazba will therefore examine the journey from the ground up from young athletes and local sporting structures to academies, institutions and policymakers while also exploring the economic forces reshaping the sector.

For News18 India, the platform creates a space where the people behind India’s sporting successes can share the stage with those responsible for building the systems around them.

And with the title literally meaning passion, Jazba is putting the emphasis where the scoreboard often cannot on the grit, groundwork and people behind India’s sporting rise.