Kolkata, 12 June 2026: The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) hosted SportsMed 2026 under the theme ‘From Performance to Prevention: Integrating Science, Medicine & Technology’, bringing together leading healthcare professionals, sports medicine experts, policymakers, hospital leaders and sports practitioners to discuss the future of sports healthcare in India. The summit was attended by eminent speakers including Mr. Prashant Sharma, Chairman, ICC National Healthcare Committee and Managing Director, Charnock Hospitals; Dr. Sankar Sengupta, Vice President, CAHO, and Medical Superintendent & Professor, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute; Mr. Sibananda Mishra, Regional Director-in-Charge, NSERC Kolkata, Sports Authority of India (SAI); Mr. Ranadeep Moitra, former cricketer and sports performance specialist; Ms. Richa S. Debgupta, Co-Chair, ICC National Healthcare Committee and Executive Vice President, Fortis Hospitals; Dr. Abhijit Sen, Consultant Orthopaedic, Joint Replacement and Sports Injury Surgeon; Dr. Khawer Naveed Siddiqui, Head of Preventive Cardiology, B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre and Dr. Indranil Khan, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Youth Services & Sports, Government of West Bengal. The summit served as a platform for deliberations on preventive care, injury management, rehabilitation, nutrition and technology-driven innovations, while emphasising the importance of stronger collaboration between healthcare, sports science and policy stakeholders to enhance athlete wellbeing and build a more resilient sporting ecosystem in India.
While welcoming the audience to the Opening Session: Future of Sports Medicine in India, Mr. Prashant Sharma, Chairman, ICC National Healthcare Committee and MD, Charnock Hospitals, said, “Sports medicine is a very potent and relevant subject today as healthcare evolves beyond curative care towards prevention, rehabilitation and enabling healthier lifestyles. As our country continues to grow in the field of sports, what is required is a very active ecosystem to support these initiatives through healthcare services in sports medicine — covering preventive care, rehabilitation, sports injury fixation, advanced surgeries, post-surgical care and treatment of chronic ailments that enable sportspersons to perform better. While we have become very good at treating illnesses, we also have to become better at preventing them. The convergence of longevity, wellness, preventive medicine and sports medicine will play the central role in providing a healthier life to individuals, be it sportspersons or non-sportspersons.”
Dr. Sankar Sengupta, Vice President, CAHO, Medical Superintendent & Professor, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Regional Cancer Centre, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, while delivering his theme address said, “Accreditation marks the initiation of quality, but that is not the end. The process and outcome become better once you methodically propagate the essence of quality and imbibe the culture of safety in your healthcare system. CAHO’s vision for sports medicine is focused on promoting standardized clinical practices, evidence-based care pathways, patient safety culture, continuous quality improvement, and outcome measurement benchmarking indicators. Our key areas of focus include injury prevention programs, safe rehabilitation protocols, infection prevention and control, athlete-centered safety, risk assessment, and rehabilitation and return-to-play frameworks. Driving improvement through evidence through clinical audits, outcome measurement indicators, registries, research collaboration, and benchmarking against best practices will be critical for the growth of sports medicine in the country.”
Mr. Sibananda Mishra, Regional Director – In charge, NSERC Kolkata, SAI, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, added, “The Government of India has introduced a new national sports policy after a gap of two and a half decades — Khelo Bharat Niti — with a wider vision of harnessing the power of sports not only for excellence and winning more medals, but also for promoting fitness, inclusion, empowerment, and leveraging the latest developments in science and technology, including artificial intelligence, sports medicine, and big data analytics. The policy places emphasis on sports science, technology and medicine, athlete-centric development, collaboration between coaches and sports science staff, and stronger participation of multiple stakeholders including government, private sector, research and international bodies. As India aspires to host the Olympics in 2036 and expand its sports ecosystem, the need for sports medicine, injury prevention, rehabilitation and sports science services will become increasingly significant in supporting athletes and promoting healthier and more active communities.”
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Ranadeep Moitra, Former Cricketer, Golf Instructor, Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Golf Biomechanist and Corrective Exercise Coach, highlighted his expertise on The Rationale for Preventive Medicine in Sports and said, “For me, corrective is almost synonymous with prevention, particularly in preventing musculoskeletal injury and trauma. Over the last twenty years, there has been a paradigm shift from a performance-oriented mindset to a more corrective and prehabilitative approach, where prevention of injuries has become a major part of strength and conditioning protocols. In my clinical practice, most injuries occur when the principles of mobility and stability are compromised. Corrective exercise is a systematic process of identifying musculoskeletal dysfunction, developing a plan of action and implementing corrective strategies to restore normal movement. The objective is to foresee the red flags, prevent impairment of the human movement system and ensure injuries do not happen.”
Speaking during the session Plenary Session I: Advancing Care, Elevating Performance, Dr. Abhijit Sen, Consultant Orthopaedic, Joint Replacement and Sports Injury Surgeon, highlighted on Sportsperson’s Health & Performance and said, “The human body is no different from a high-performance system — performance depends not only on talent, hard work and training, but on a body that moves freely, recovers early and remains injury-free. Orthopaedics is not only about fracture surgery; it is about the complete movement system where strong bones, stable and mobile joints, and healthy muscles improve performance. Prevention is the best treatment, and prevention itself improves performance. Recovery is a part of training, because growth comes after rest, not during training. Pain ignored becomes injury, and injury ignored becomes lost performance. The goal is not to perform today, but to perform for many years.”
Speaking during the same session, Dr. Khawer Naveed Siddiqui, Head – Preventive Cardiology, B M Birla Heart Research Centre, highlighted his vision on Cardiac Care for Sportsperson and said, “Cardiac health is of paramount importance for athletes because the heart is responsible for maintaining overall physical performance, yet cardiovascular diseases can lead to sudden cardiac death even in young and very fit individuals. While sports offer profound cardiovascular benefits, safe participation in sports is very important and pre-checkup is most vital in today’s era. Regular screening, pre-sports evaluation, awareness of warning signs and preparedness on the field through Basic Life Support can play a critical role, because prevention is always better than cure and cardiac health should be given utmost importance.”
In this occasion, Dr. Indranil Khan, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Youth Services & Sports, Government of West Bengal, said, “With Khelo India, our state of West Bengal is going to witness a fundamental change in sports infrastructure, sports manpower and the overall performance of our sportspersons. We have to groom and support our players during their formative years through professional support ranging from coaching to sports medicine, fitness coaching and injury management. Sports medicine is going to witness a major change for the better and will not be restricted to Kolkata — it will be decentralized so that players across West Bengal receive opportunities and support. The government will lead this change, but I would also like to encourage entrepreneurs and stakeholders to come and invest in sports and be a part of this transformation.”
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