Closer Access To Performance Gear For Indian Athletes KELME has entered the Indian market with the launch of its first experiential store in Noida and a nationwide online platform, making its performance sports gear easily available to athletes across the country. The brand, brought in by RSN Sports, aims to address the lack of high-quality, competition-level gear for serious and grassroots athletes in India. Alongside this, KELME India has introduced Project 1000, a three-year initiative to support 1,000 young athletes with professional gear, expert guidance, and structured training. The programme will work with academies and coaches across the country to identify talent, with some athletes also getting opportunities for international exposure and training. Ranjit Singh, Director, KELME India, said, “It is often said that nations progress when their sports progress. With this belief, RSN Sports has brought KELME to India not merely to introduce an international brand, but to contribute to the country’s growing sports ecosystem.” India’s activewear and performance gear market is expanding rapidly, driven by rising fitness awareness and increasing participation in organised sports. Industry estimates place the market at USD 11 to USD 15 billion in 2024. At the same time, grassroots sports participation across football, badminton, basketball, and other disciplines is steadily increasing, creating greater demand for competition-grade performance sports equipment. Speaking on the launch, Anurag Singh, CEO, KELME India, said, “Sport today extends beyond the field of play. India’s sports ecosystem is evolving rapidly, with an increase in the number of athletes training seriously at the grassroots level. As participation grows, there is a clear need for performance gear designed specifically for competitive play. Our focus is to support that ecosystem by bringing technically advanced sports products to athletes, academies, and institutions across the country.” He further added, “Alongside our high performance sports gear, we are also introducing a performance activewear range inspired by the athlete that exists in all of us, encouraging a stronger culture of active living.” With over 63 years of product development heritage, KELME has built its reputation around engineering-led performance gear used across professional leagues and sports institutions worldwide. The India launch introduces more than 150 performance products across football, futsal, basketball, badminton, and other indoor and outdoor sports. The portfolio includes lightweight performance fabrics, advanced moisture-management technology, and footwear engineered for multi-surface traction and biomechanical stability during high-intensity play. During the press conference, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Director, KELME India, highlighted, “We realised there is a significant gap in India’s sports market. While many brands focus heavily on lifestyle and athleisure segments, serious athletes struggle to find performance-grade gear designed for competitive play. KELME’s focus has always been on engineering sports products for match intensity, and we believe Indian athletes deserve access to the same level of performance equipment.” “To strengthen the brand’s on-ground presence across India , we plan to establish a network of 70 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) over the next three years in partnership with local franchise operators,” he added.
Global Sports Brand KELME Opens First Experiential Store In Noida
