NODWIN Gaming, an entity recognized in youth entertainment and esports, has announced the formation of NODWIN Sports, a new division dedicated to mainstream sports. The company has appointed Gurbaksh Singh Virdi, a veteran in sports marketing, to lead the new vertical.

NODWIN Sports will focus on developing sports properties that converge traditional sport, esports, and youth culture, with an initial emphasis on the Indian market and opportunities across the Global South. This initiative aims to adapt NODWIN Gaming’s experience in creating high-engagement youth properties to a broader sporting context.

The new division’s mandate includes conceptualizing and scaling active fitness competitions, developing mass-participation lifestyle events, and collaborating with sports federations, governing bodies, rights holders, and brands. Its operations will span four core areas:
* Developing new-age sports and mass-participation intellectual properties (IPs).
* Providing sports advisory and engaging with governing bodies.
* Forging strategic partnerships and commercial alliances.
* Offering white-label execution and operational services for sports properties.

NODWIN Gaming: Overview

Gurbaksh Singh Virdi joins NODWIN Gaming as Vice President, NODWIN Sports, bringing extensive experience from various roles within the sports ecosystem. His career includes leadership positions at Red Bull, U Sports, Puma, Cornerstone, and Adidas India. Virdi’s prior roles involved pioneering initiatives such as Red Bull Campus Cricket, managing Indian athletes, and establishing the esports vertical at U Sports. He also expanded Puma’s team sports portfolio and led strategic athlete IP development at Cornerstone, including running initiatives for Virat Kohli’s One8 brand. Most recently, as Sports Marketing Lead at Adidas India, Virdi oversaw partnerships with the BCCI and the Indian Olympic Association, alongside developing marketing activations.

Commenting on the launch, Virdi stated, “India’s sports landscape is evolving, driven by new generations engaging with sport across competition, participation, entertainment, content, and culture. NODWIN Sports provides an opportunity to integrate these perspectives and build properties relevant to how the next generation experiences sport.” He emphasized the division’s goal to create new participation opportunities and help shape a more accessible, engaging, and contemporary sports culture.

Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder and Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming (https://nodwingaming.com/), highlighted the changing dynamics of sports engagement. “We see an opportunity to develop properties that reflect how younger audiences participate, compete, follow, and engage with sport today,” Rathee said. “Gurbaksh brings a combination of sports marketing experience, IP-building expertise, and an understanding of how to build ecosystems around audiences.”

NODWIN Sports plans to leverage NODWIN Gaming’s existing capabilities in content creation, production, partnerships, and community engagement. The company’s portfolio of youth-focused IPs, which includes BGMI Masters Series (BGMS), Comic Con India (CCI), NH7 Weekender, and VCSA, demonstrates its experience in building communities across competitive gaming, music, lifestyle, and youth culture. This foundation positions NODWIN Sports to create properties that connect with younger audiences through a blend of participation, entertainment, content, and commercial partnerships.

The establishment of NODWIN Sports marks an expansion of NODWIN Gaming’s presence in youth entertainment and creates a new platform for its involvement in the evolving Indian sports landscape. For more information on such industry developments, readers can visit TechnoSports (https://technosports.co.in/).