'We will have Olympic medals raining': Sharath Kamal praises JAIN Sports’ US-style sports ecosystem

The 5-time Olympian compares the JAIN Group’s vision to the US collegiate model that produced 13 medals at the Paris Olympics.

Indian sporting legend and 5-time Olympian Sharath Kamal has championed the launch of JAIN Sports, a new high-performance ecos ystem by The JGI Group on Monday, calling it the direct example of how India can replicate the global success of university-backed athletics.

Speaking at the launch event in Bengaluru, where JAIN Sports also announced a landmark partnership to open a Manchester City Football School, Kamal drew a powerful parallel between the new initiative and the American collegiate system.

“When I look at them, I can clearly see the vision, the direct example to how the Jain school works is how Harvard in the U.S. is working,” Sharath Kamal said.

“The simple example there is: out of the 126 medals in Paris Olympic Games, 13 medals were from Harvard. That’s exactly what I can see with the Jain Group.”

Sharath Kamal, who began his table tennis journey at age four, shared personal anecdotes highlighting the drastic cultural shift JAIN Sports aims to accelerate.

Recalling his first Commonwealth Gold in 2006, he described taking his medals to his father’s boss, only to be asked, “What are you studying? Studies are very important.”

“That was how the mindset was back then,” Sharath reflected. “Today, we see the Jain Group making that balance for all of us, ensuring we are able to build a career out of sport.

Education helps us have logical thinking but we should be able to carve a career out of sport and that is exactly what the Jain Group here is able to create.”

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While celebrating his accolades, including 13 Commonwealth medals and the Khel Ratna, Sharath Kamal admitted to one hollow place in his cabinet: an Olympic medal.

He expressed his commitment to filling that void not as a player, but as a mentor within ecosystems like JAIN Sports.

“I continued to embark on the journey to win that Olympic medal for the country as a mentor, as a coach and I am pretty sure in that journey the enthusiasm that I get to learn from the JAIN group will be very important,” Sharath said.

“Come 2036, let the Olympic Games be in India or not, I am pretty sure that we will have those Olympic medals raining into the country. Thanks to the Jain Group.”

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