The Center of Excellence in Sports Science & Analytics (CESSA) at IIT Madras stands as a dynamic hub driving innovation at the intersection of sports, science, and technology. It brings together expertise across disciplines to advance athlete performance, fitness, health, and even fan engagement through media platforms and sporting bodies.
At its core, CESSA pursues three missions with clarity and ambition. First, it delivers world-class education in sports science and management. Second, it develops cutting-edge products and coaching tools through close collaboration between students and faculty. Third, it fosters an incubator ecosystem that nurtures sport-tech start-ups rooted in IoT, AI, biomechanics, and data science.
Moreover, CESSA anchors its vision in strong partnerships with premier national and international institutions. These alliances fuel groundbreaking research, patents, and transformative projects that actively shape the future of sport.
At PLAYCOM 2025, in an exclusive dialogue with The Interview World, Dr. Babji Srinivasan, Professor in the Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering at IIT Madras, shed light on CESSA’s pioneering contributions. He detailed the innovations designed to empower athletes, explained how analytics sharpen performance outcomes, and outlined the center’s forward-looking strategies. His insights offered a rare window into the science of sporting excellence.
Q: Could you walk us through the key initiatives and offerings that CESSA has introduced in the sports sector, and how they are making an impact?
A: The Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA) is based at IIT Madras. Founded five years ago, it was established to introduce technology into sports and enhance athlete performance at both elite and grassroots levels. Beyond sports, CESSA also promotes wellness among the general population, bridging the gap between professional performance and everyday health.
CESSA began its journey focusing on combat sports, particularly boxing, deliberately starting with non-cricket disciplines given cricket’s dominance in India. Over time, the center expanded its scope to cover a wider array of sports. Today, CESSA comprises over 70 students and staff, supported by five to six core faculty members and several adjunct faculty.
The center organizes its work into multiple specialized buckets. Some teams focus on combat sports, others on ball games, racket sports, and outdoor disciplines like football. A central emphasis lies in vision-based solutions. For instance, in boxing, CESSA uses video analytics to generate a detailed SWOT analysis for each player, providing actionable insights to improve performance.
In addition to analytics, CESSA has developed IoT-enabled devices that integrate seamlessly with video-based systems, capturing complementary data to enrich player assessment. The combination of advanced video analysis and IoT-driven insights allows CESSA to deliver a holistic understanding of an athlete’s capabilities and areas for improvement.
Q: What innovative products has CESSA developed to support and empower sportspersons, and how do these solutions enhance their performance or overall sporting experience?
A: For example, in boxing, we developed a product called Smart Boxer. It tracks a player’s movements and punching patterns, then evaluates how effectively they use the ring. In boxing, performance isn’t judged solely on punches; it also depends on ringmanship and aggression. Traditionally, these aspects are assessed subjectively. Our goal is to provide objective analytics that players and coaches can use to enhance training and strategy.
For runners and athletes, we are creating smart insoles embedded with sensors and IMUs to measure movement and provide detailed gait analysis. Consider cricketers like Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram: Shoaib generates speed over a long run from the pavilion’s end, whereas Wasim achieves comparable speed using shorter strides. With our smart insoles, coaches can train athletes to generate more force efficiently, optimize stride length, and improve overall performance.
This technology spans multiple sports. In boxing, for instance, a boxer should never rest simultaneously on both heel and toe—doing so indicates inefficiency. Smart Boxer detects such moments, providing precise feedback on footwork and effectiveness. By converting subjective assessment into data-driven insight, our products empower athletes to refine technique, enhance performance, and gain a competitive edge.
Q: How does this equipment enhance sportspersons’ performance, and what analytics or evaluations demonstrate its effectiveness in matches?
A: As I mentioned earlier, I can give examples from cricket, but let’s focus on boxing. Our coaches, including former coaches from the Inspire Institute of Sports, have actively trained athletes using this system. We deployed the technology during their sessions, and it produced measurable results. The boxers gained a clearer understanding of their mistakes and technique. For instance, one athlete was moving straight ahead without effectively using the ring. By reviewing video feedback and guided analysis, he corrected his approach and improved his spatial awareness in the ring.
Q: What are CESSA’s future plans and strategic priorities for driving growth and innovation in the sports sector?
A: Our future plan is to take these solutions to the grassroots level. All our products are highly cost-effective—typically one-fifth or even one-tenth the price of existing alternatives. Some of our offerings are entirely new innovations. We prioritize affordability without compromising on quality, adding unique features that set our products apart. Our goal is to make them accessible to a wide audience, enabling young athletes to benefit from advanced training tools. For example, whether in cricket, tennis, or badminton, we leverage just mobile phones to collect video data and provide actionable feedback. This approach allows us to reach the masses efficiently, democratizing access to performance-enhancing technology.
3 Comments
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I appreciate the real-life examples you added. They made it relatable.
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