#sportstech

What if you could play a cricket video game with an actual cricket bat, rather than a controller?

That's the reason behind MetaShot, a Bengaluru-based startup firm founded by three entrepreneurs who sought to recreate the sense of actual cricket in games.

The company's smart bat uses motion-sensing technology to convert real-world shots into virtual gaming, resulting in an experience that is much more like true cricket simulation than typical video games.

What began as a modest experiment has evolved into one of India's most intriguing sports-tech tales, drawing investors, making appearances on Shark Tank India, and expanding into new sports outside cricket.

For me, the most fascinating aspect is not the technology, but how the entrepreneurs spotted something millions of cricket fans desired but did not believe was possible.

🏏 Real Bat 🎮 Real Gameplay 🚀 Real Startup Story

Winning gold medals doesn't happen overnight. It starts years before the podium—in the background, through a solid Sports Ecosystem! 🏋️‍♂️🚴‍♀️

So, what does it actually take to build a ecosystem that turns raw potential into world champions? Let's break it down! 👇

The Ultimate Sports Checklist:

🏟️ Access to Tech & Tracks: Kids need safe, modern, and accessible grounds to play on—no matter where they live!

🧠 Mind + Body Training: It's not just about lifting weights anymore. Access to mental conditioning coaches, proper nutritionists, and recovery techs is a MUST.

💰 Financial Backing: Removing the financial stress from athletes so they can focus 100% on their game.

Managing guardians, players, teams, events, payments, and your club's online presence has never been easier. SquadDeck is the most comprehensive sports club management platform — built to streamline every part of running your club, all in one dashboard.

👤 Guardian & Player Management — Registration, Onboarding, Attendance Tracking 👥 Team Management — Multiple Teams, All Sports, One Dashboard 📅 Event Scheduling — Matches, Trainings, Tournaments 💬 Real-Time Chat & Notifications — Team Updates, Announcements, Reminders 💳 Secure Payment Gateway — Membership Fees, Recurring Payments, Invoicing 🌐 Website & E-Commerce — Custom Club Website, Team Store, Merchandise

Whether you're managing a small club or a multi-team league — SquadDeck has you covered from sign-up to game day.

🏆🤖 AI Is Changing the Game—Literally.

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool for analyzing statistics. It's transforming how athletes train, how coaches make decisions, how broadcasters deliver content, and how fans experience sports.

From predicting injuries before they happen to generating personalized match highlights and powering smart stadiums, AI is becoming an essential part of the modern sports ecosystem.

📈 Market Snapshot

Global market size (2025): USD 10.82 billion

Expected market size (2035): USD 70.16 billion

CAGR (2026–2035): 20.56%

As wearable technology, computer vision, and machine learning continue to evolve, the future of sports will be more connected, data-driven, and intelligent than ever before.

⚽ FIFA World Cup 2026 is redefining fan engagement. Prediction markets are turning viewers into active participants. Explore how your sports platform can leverage this trend.

The next big opportunity is infrastructure.

As AI-powered broadcasting, analytics, and OTT distribution become more accessible, investors are now backing companies building the foundational technology layer for grassroots and semi-professional sports ecosystems.

One of the latest examples is SportVot, the New Delhi-based sports-tech company that has raised ₹32.7 crore to expand its AI-driven sports production and analytics platform globally.

The company is targeting one of the biggest gaps in the global sports economy: millions of sporting events that remain unrecorded, undiscovered, and commercially untapped.

While elite leagues benefit from billion-dollar media rights and advanced broadcasting systems, grassroots tournaments, school competitions, and district-level leagues often lack even basic production infrastructure. SportVot aims to solve that through low-cost AI-powered streaming, scoring, analytics, and white-label OTT tools.

Its hardware-agnostic system allows matches to be captured using smartphones or professional camera setups, significantly lowering the cost of sports digitisation across emerging markets.

The bigger story here is how sports technology investment is shifting toward scalable infrastructure, data monetisation, and AI-enabled media ecosystems rather than purely consumer-facing applications.

I explored how SportVot’s latest funding round reflects this larger transformation in India’s sports-tech landscape and why infrastructure-led growth may define the sector’s next decade.