Discovering Sports Talent in Remote Areas: Students Develop an AI-Based Mobile App
Summary
Students from Scaler School of Technology developed an AI-based mobile app to identify sports talent in remote areas of India, winning the national championship at the Smart India Hackathon 2025.
Why It Matters
This initiative addresses the significant challenge of identifying sports talent in rural India, where geographical and infrastructural barriers often prevent talented athletes from accessing opportunities. By leveraging AI and mobile technology, the app democratizes sports talent assessment, potentially transforming how talent is discovered and nurtured in underserved regions.
Key Takeaways
- The app allows athletes to assess their fitness using just a smartphone, making talent identification accessible.
- It reduces reliance on trained evaluators by using on-device AI to analyze performance metrics.
- The initiative emerged from a competitive hackathon, showcasing the innovative potential of students in addressing real-world problems.
Discovering Sports Talent in Remote Areas: Students Develop an AI-Based Mobile App Home News Education Discovering Sports Talent in Remote Areas: Students Develop ... Discovering Sports Talent in Remote Areas: Students Develop an AI-Based Mobile App BY - Opportunity India Desk Editor Feb 28, 2026 62 / 4 Min Read Follow Us Identifying sports talent in India has long been challenged by geographical distance, lack of infrastructure and the shortage of trained evaluators. Many talented athletes in rural and remote regions are unable to access formal selection and trial systems, causing their potential to often go unnoticed. To address this critical issue a student-led innovative initiative has emerged from the country’s largest government hackathon. This solution claims to identify and assess sports talent using only a basic smartphone and artificial intelligence (AI).Record Participation at Smart India Hackathon 2025 This year witnessed unprecedented participation at Smart India Hackathon 2025. A total of 1,391,884 students registered, while 68,766 teams submitted 72,165 ideas. These ideas were based on 271 different problem statements.Under a problem statement issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, nearly 500 teams competed at the national level in this category, making it one of the most competitive tracks of the hackathon.Student Team ‘Antardrishti’ Achieves National Success The team ‘Antardrishti’ from Scaler School of Technology was declared the “Outstanding...