28th April, 2025: The National Center for Sports Science and Research (NCSSR) marked a significant milestone with the launch of its cutting-edge ‘Return to Play’ facility, inaugurated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Hon’ble Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Government of India, aimed at revolutionizing athlete rehabilitation and performance tracking. Alongside this, the much-anticipated Speed 2.0 Athlete Management System, developed by Digital Darwin, was officially rolled out across all National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs).
The dual launch took place on the sidelines of NCSSR NCOEs, drawing participation from key stakeholders in sports science, athlete development, and digital innovation.
The Return to Play facility is designed to provide a holistic, sports science-backed framework for athletes recovering from injuries, ensuring a fast, safe and structured comeback to competitive performance. Powered by cutting edge equipment, comprehensive digitized diagnostics and AI-driven progress mapping, the facility enhances the orchestration between sports medicine and high-performance training.
The Speed 2.0 Athlete Management System by Digital Darwin is India’s largest Athlete Performance system and aims to create a digital operating system for Indian Sports ecosystem enabling other sportstech companies to co-innovate and help India become a dominant player in Sports. It is currently rolled out in 15 NCOEs across India.
Rahul Bajaj, Co-Founder, Digital Darwin, shared his vision on the occasion: “With Speed 2.0, we are not only standardizing Athlete Performance protocols; but also defining rules for creating an open innovation system for Sports in India. It’s a step towards democratizing access to elite performance technologies for athletes at every level.”
Shitiz Ruhail, Co-Founder, Digital Darwin, added: “The Return to Play facility is a game-changer. Integrating our technology into NCSSR’s scientific framework enables early injury detection, optimized rehab, and enhanced performance outcomes — all while keeping the athlete at the center of the journey.”
These landmark initiatives reaffirm the NCSSR’s commitment to marrying cutting-edge technology with evidence-based sports science to create a world-class athletic ecosystem in India.
