SportsSkill Opens First High-Performance Centre in Pune, Inaugurated by Geoff Davenport and Rishad Pandole

Located on the 16th floor of Infinity Business Park, SportsSkill X combines squash facilities, coaching, sports science and athlete performance data to support player development.

Sports-tech and athlete development platform SportsSkill has opened SportsSkill X, its first physical high-performance centre, at Infinity Business Park, Thube Park, Pune. The facility brings together athlete data, coaching and sports science, marking the platform’s expansion from digital services into physical sports training.

The centre was inaugurated by Geoff Davenport, seven-time World Masters Squash Champion from Australia, who attended as Guest of Honour, alongside Rishad Pandole, a six-time national squash champion and businessman. SportsSkill co-founders Abhinav Sinha and Chetan Desai also attended the inauguration with athletes, coaches, parents and members of Pune’s sporting and business community.

Supported by Chance2Sports (SS Foundation), the centre is powered by Rolling Nicks Champions Gurukul, with Fit2Sport serving as its Performance Partner. Located on the building’s 16th floor, SportsSkill X offers views across Pune’s skyline and is described by the company as among the highest squash facilities in India and Asia.

Bringing Sports Technology into Physical Training

SportsSkill has been using its app to record training, match footage and athlete progress across 10–12 cities. SportsSkill X provides a physical facility where the information can be used by coaches, physiotherapists and athletes to support training and performance development.

The centre connects digital assessment with on-court training, allowing player progress to be monitored through performance data and coaching feedback. The company describes this approach as a “phygital” model that combines digital technology with physical sports facilities.

The launch comes as squash prepares to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028. SportsSkill X aims to provide Indian players with access to high-performance training facilities within the country.

Facility Combines Courts, Sports Science and Recovery

SportsSkill X is designed around four pillars: Technology, Expertise, Performance and Opportunity. In addition to squash courts and other sports facilities, the centre includes a strength and conditioning zone, a video and data analysis suite, and a dedicated recovery area.

According to the company, more than 300 active users already use the SportsSkill app to log training, upload match footage and receive personalised feedback.

Court sessions at the centre will feed performance information back into the platform. Video footage and other data collected during training will be used to inform individual player development plans. The facility will also serve as a testing ground for new features on the SportsSkill platform.

Coaching is led by Rolling Nicks Champions Gurukul, the system headed by Abhinav Sinha, a former Asian Junior and World Junior Championship player and two-time national champion in the Coaches’ Category. Training will cover technique, fitness, nutrition and mental conditioning, with Fit2Sport as the Performance Partner.

Thube Park Connects the Centre to Pune’s Squash Development

The centre’s location at Thube Park has a history linked to Sinha’s earlier work in squash development. His previous initiative, Rolling Nicks Sports Foundation, opened Pune’s first free squash court in the area with his friend and squash enthusiast Yogesh Thube, giving hundreds of children in the city their first opportunity to play the sport.

Nearly a decade later, the same neighbourhood is home to SportsSkill X.

Athletes associated with the SportsSkill and Chance2Sports system have won multiple national titles. They have also held National Rank 1 positions in Girls U-15 and U-17, and Rank 2 in Girls U-19, while representing India at the Asian Junior and World Junior Championships.

Pune-based Anika Dubey, who joined the programme at the age of 10, recently won silver at the Asian Junior Squash Championships.

Chance2Sports Foundation Plans Training for Young Athletes

SportsSkill X will serve as the high-performance base for the Chance2Sports Foundation’s NextGen Super 30 mission. The five-year initiative, valued at ₹25 crore, aims to assess nearly 3,000 children from diverse backgrounds and provide 300 of them with elite training, regardless of their ability to pay.

The foundation aims to develop India’s first World Junior Squash gold medallist and establish a pathway for producing future champions.

Abhinav Sinha, Co-founder of SportsSkill and Chance2Sports, said, “I grew up in a city without a single squash academy. Everything I have built since has been about making sure the next talented child doesn’t hit that wall. SportsSkill X is the facility I wish I’d had at 12. Now a child from Pune, Kalamb or Assam can train in a space that matches anything in the world, with the data and coaching to back it up.”

Chetan Desai, Co-founder of SportsSkill and Chance2Sports, said, “We started as a technology platform because we believed data could find and grow talent faster. But data alone doesn’t build a champion. You need the court, the coach and the recovery room too. SportsSkill X is where our technology meets the real world. Merit, not money, will decide who walks onto these courts, and technology will decide how far they go.”

Geoff Davenport Highlights Role of Coaching and Sports Science

Geoff Davenport, Seven-Time World Masters Squash Champion, said, “I have played squash in many countries over many decades, and I have rarely seen a court with a view like this. But what impresses me more is what happens to it. The combination of coaching, sports science and data here is world-class. With squash heading to the Olympics, India has the talent to be a real force, and centres like SportsSkill X are how that talent gets there.”

SportsSkill X is located on the 16th floor of Infinity Business Park, Thube Park, Pune.