New Delhi: Performance-based funding and gene-testing of aspiring athletes to figure the best sport for them were among the suggestions before Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya sought a five-year plan from every national federation by the end of next month.

The inaugural one-day ‘Khelo Bharat Conclave’ had the top stakeholders of Indian sports under one roof for a good six hours during which ideas, both old and new, were discussed at length to chart the way forward. The ambition – make India a top five sporting nation by 2047 after elevating the country to the top 10 by the 2036 Olympics, which the country is ambitiously aiming to host.

“To begin with, I urge the NSFs to provide me a five-year policy by August and then we can develop a 10-year plan,” Mandaviya told the packed convention hall of a top hotel here.

“With the Asian Games in 2026, we need a holistic approach because we not only want to win medals at the Olympics but make sports a commercial property where we can invite the world to come and play in India and boost sports tourism in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He reiterated the importance of resolving differences within........

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