From a Broken Bat to Becoming India’s Leading Sports Omni-Channel Retailer
When people ask me why I am so passionate about grassroots sports and making sport accessible to every child, I don’t begin with business statistics or industry trends. I begin with a broken cricket bat.
I grew up in Hindu Colony in Mumbai, a beautiful, green neighborhood with a strong sporting culture. Every evening, children gathered in the streets to play cricket, football and badminton. I was an extremely shy and introverted child. Academically, I was confident and did well in school, but socially I kept to myself and was always fearful of the unknown.
Yet there was one thing I loved deeply — sport.
I loved playing cricket, table tennis, carrom, chess, and also enjoyed swimming and cycling. I even learnt karate and earned my brown belt. Sport became my window to the world. It taught me discipline, focus and perseverance. But if I had to choose one sport that truly captured my heart, it would always be cricket.
My Broken Bat: A Temporary Obstacle
One day, I gathered the courage to walk across the street and ask a local cricket group if I could join them. For a boy as shy as me, it was a huge step. They accepted me, and that was the beginning of my love affair with the game.
A few years later, I desperately wanted to join a cricket coaching camp. My mother somehow managed to arrange the fees, but there was another problem—I had no equipment. I borrowed a bat from a friend and joined the camp.
Then, on the third day, the bat broke.
A new bat cost ₹300. I knew I would have to ask my father for one, but I simply did not have the courage to do so. Instead, I quietly stepped away.
That was the end of my formal cricket training.
My dream didn’t end because I lacked talent or passion. It ended because I lacked the confidence to ask for what I needed.
The bat was broken, but my spirit wasn’t.
I continued to play every sport I could. Sport gave me immense joy and taught me lessons that I didn’t even realise I was learning at the time—discipline, teamwork, resilience and the courage to step outside my comfort zone.
Even then, I remained a shy and reticent young man. It was easy to bully me, and I rarely stood up for myself. I carried that personality with me right into my college years.
Sports Passion + Family Business = Start of My Retail Journey
At the age of 16, I was expected to spend my spare hours working in our family business, Asian General Stores, which my father had established. Every evening at five, I would run away from the shop to do what I loved most — play cricket. My passion for sport was so intense that I once fainted after playing table tennis continuously for seven hours.
After graduating from college, I joined the family business, becoming the third generation in retail. Ours was an iconic convenience store and, even today, continues to thrive after more than eighty years.
Joining the business was not part of some grand strategy. In many ways, it was the easy option. I settled into a life that had already been planned for me. I learnt to love retail, but I disliked the long hours and the traditional way of doing things. Deep down, I often felt frustrated, believing that life and circumstances had decided my future.
Then one incident changed everything.
The Robbery That Shaped My Spirit
On the 4th of July 1983, my father and I were returning home after closing the shop when we were attacked by a group of robbers. They wanted the cash and valuables we were carrying. I fought back with all my strength, drawing upon the courage and discipline that karate had taught me. In the struggle, I was stabbed multiple times — in my stomach, chest, head and legs — and my father was badly injured as well.
Fortunately, a police patrol van arrived just in time and saved our lives. I spent 15 days in hospital and months recovering. But the incident transformed me.
For the first time, I realized that beneath my quiet and timid exterior was a strength I had never fully recognized.
I made a promise to myself:
I would no longer wait for circumstances to shape my future. I would create my own path.
The First Seed of Total Sports & Fitness
Years earlier, at the age of 16, I had visited Singapore and witnessed the emerging face of modern retail. I was fascinated by sophisticated retail concepts and dreamed of bringing something similar to India one day. My father resisted the idea, preferring traditional methods, but I never let go of that dream.
Throughout the 1990s, as India embraced liberalization and modern retail began to emerge, I followed every development closely. I spent countless hours visualizing a modern retail store of my own.
Another personal experience planted the seed for what would eventually become Total Sports & Fitness.
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Every Diwali, I would fall seriously ill because of the smoke and gunpowder from the firecrackers. One particular year, I lost nearly eight kilograms. The medication cured me, but I was left weak, underweight and lacking energy.
Around that time, I saw an advertisement for the Talwalkars Weight Gain Programme and immediately enrolled.
For the first time in my life, I saw treadmills, exercise bikes and a structured fitness programme. I started weight training and cardio exercises. They introduced me to protein supplements and proper nutrition.
Slowly, I regained my health, strength and energy. That experience opened my eyes to the world of fitness and its transformative potential.
At the same time, I faced another challenge as a sports enthusiast.
In the 1970s and 1980s, access to quality sportswear in India was almost non-existent. Those who traveled abroad came back with Nike and Adidas shoes and apparel. The rest of us simply admired them from a distance.
I struggled to find good sportswear and quality sporting products.
Then, in 2003, an opportunity presented itself.
I had the chance to lease a small 400-square-foot shop. I signed the agreement without even knowing exactly what I would do with it.
Then I asked myself a simple question: “What would I love to sell?”
The answer came naturally.
Sports.
But not just sports goods.
I wanted to create a place that fulfilled every need of an athlete under one roof — sports goods, sportswear, fitness equipment and food supplements. The idea was born from my own experiences.
The Execution & Scale-Up
My wife, Heena, and I spent countless hours refining things.
On 27 October 2003, Total Sports was born.
The response was immediate and overwhelming.
Customers walked in with expressions of amazement. Many thought we were an international brand. Others immediately started asking about franchising opportunities.
They had never seen anything like it before.
Without realizing it, we had created India’s first modern multi-brand sports and fitness retail concept — a one-stop destination for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.
Within the first two weeks, I realized we had hit a bull’s-eye.
We built the business on strong values and expanded steadily. Over the years, Total Sports & Fitness grew into one of India’s pioneering sports and fitness retail chains, while also building a strong institutional presence in sports infrastructure and facilities.
Today, Total Sports & Fitness is India’s first organized multi-brand sports company, operating across four verticals — retail, B2B, ecommerce and distribution—with 23 retail stores across 7 states and 13 cities, serving athletes and fitness enthusiasts across the country
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But for me, the greatest reward has never been business success.
Every time I see the excitement on the face of a child entering our store for the first time, I am reminded of my own journey. I think about how many dreams fade — not because children lack talent, but because they lack confidence, encouragement or access. That is why I believe India’s sporting future will not be built by athletes alone.
It will be built by ecosystems.
Conclusion
Behind every champion stands a network of parents, teachers, coaches, schools, communities and businesses that create opportunities and nurture talent.
Grassroots sport is not merely about producing medals. It is about building confidence, resilience, leadership and healthier communities. It is about giving every child the chance to participate and grow.
At Total Sports & Fitness, our mission has always gone beyond selling products. We want to create a sporting culture by bringing people together through sports and fitness. Today, at the age of 63, I continue to explore new sports and challenges. Recently, I have taken up pickleball and padel, proving to myself that age should never be a barrier to staying active.
Because I know, from personal experience, that sport has the power to transform lives.
It transformed a shy boy into an entrepreneur.
And it gave me a purpose — to ensure that as many people as possible experience the confidence, joy and possibilities that sport can bring into their lives.
