Mumbai: Impact Games India (IGI), a multi-sport initiative scheduled to be held across Mumbai over multiple weekends in October, aims to bring people of different ages, abilities and sporting interests together while raising funds for charitable causes, according to Sanket Jain, Project Director of Impact Games India and President of the Rotary Club of Mumbai SoBo.
In an exclusive interview at the The Free Press Journal's office, Jain said the inaugural edition will feature more than 15 sporting disciplines across multiple venues, giving participants the flexibility to choose from team, racket and mind sports. Cricket and racket sports will be part of the programme, alongside mind sports such as carrom and sudoku.
The Games will also have different age categories, making participation possible for older players and those returning to sport after a long break. Jain stressed that participants need not be competitive athletes.
“Even if you're 50-plus, you can still participate. There are people who come to us and say that they've not played a sport for 10 or 15 years. Now's the time to pick up that racket and test your skills,” he said.
With more than 5,000 participants expected, Jain said scheduling is among the organisers' biggest challenges. The team must coordinate more than 15 sports over several weekends while ensuring participants can enter multiple disciplines without clashes. Negotiations with clubs and venues are also under way.
The organisers plan to spread the Games across Mumbai rather than concentrate them in one part of the city. Jain said venues being considered range from clubs in South Mumbai to Goregaon, making the event more accessible.
“This is the uniqueness of this platform. It's not a tournament per se. It's multiple opportunities to participate, engage and take something away from it,” he said.
Jain said 100% of the net proceeds from Impact Games India will go towards verified charitable causes. The Rotary Club of Mumbai SoBo follows an internal process to evaluate projects and aims to ensure that funds reach beneficiaries and generate maximum impact.
Among the areas expected to benefit are sports infrastructure, education, health and community welfare. Jain also highlighted the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and said Impact Games India's association with Fit India had strengthened the initiative's credibility.
Beyond fundraising, Jain hopes IGI will encourage Mumbaikars to make sport part of their everyday lives.
“I think all of those dusty rackets and sports equipment lying inside houses will come out and come to good use,” he said. “If we are able to convert even 100 people and bring them into the sports arena, mission achieved.”
The initiative is open to everyone and not restricted to Rotarians or any particular community. Jain said organisers are engaging corporates, sporting organisations, volunteers and civic stakeholders. He said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had also extended support, with 100 BMC workers expressing interest in participating.
Jain envisions IGI eventually becoming more than a series of competitions. The long-term plan is to build a sporting platform featuring related activities and a grand finale celebrating participants and different disciplines.
He hopes October will eventually become synonymous with Impact Games India and that the event will develop into an annual fixture comparable in spirit to Mumbai's major participation-based sporting events. The model, he said, could eventually be replicated in other cities through Rotary's network.
Success in the inaugural edition will be measured not merely through participation numbers but also through funds raised, projects supported and feedback from participants, venues, sponsors and other stakeholders.
Registration contributions vary by sport. Jain said chess costs ₹500 and badminton ₹1,000, with the payments treated as contributions towards charity.
His message to Mumbaikars ahead of October is simple: get off the couch, choose a sport and participate.
“You just need to come on that day, participate and maybe win a trophy,” Jain said.
