Where insight
meets action.

Dr. Chaitanya Sridhar is a pioneering Sports and Trans-species Psychologist mentoring elite athletes, including Olympic medallists. The first woman sports psychologist in the IPL, she is an advisor to INSPA, co-developer of India’s first online sports science course with IIT-Madras, and recognised by the Sports Ministry for continuing to transform high-performance terrain.

Outside Sports, she's the founder of AANE (All about the Nature of Elephants) championing the elephant cause. A TEDx speaker and author of Elephant Wings to Freedom, her work bridges human and animal psychology to inspire compassionate action.

Keerthana Swaminathan is a sports psychologist and ISSP-R listed practitioner working across sports, including IPL teams and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. As President of INSPA and co-director of The Performance Doctor, she champions athlete mental health and culturally responsive practice. Currently pursuing a PhD on psychological safety and performance, she integrates research and practice to shape India’s sport psychology landscape. She is also the author of When I Looked Back It Was 21 Already.

Mugdha A. Bavare is a Sport and Counseling Psychologist with over two decades of experience working with elite Indian athletes across cricket, archery, shooting, wrestling, swimming, and more. A former national swimmer and recipient of the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Award, she is the founder of Mindsports, focusing on mental training and performance enhancement.

Vaibhav Agashe is a certified sport psychology consultant and Research Fellow with the American Board of Sport Psychology, with over 18 years of experience working with elite Indian athletes. He has served as a mental trainer for multiple Olympic medalists, including two shooters who won medals at the London 2012 Olympics and a medal-winning shooter at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Founder, MindFirst Performance, Co-Founder INSPA

ISSP-Registered Professional Sport Psychologist with a 13 year- wealth of experience in the Indian landscape of sport psychology. Having completed her Masters from Loughborough University in 2012, setting foot in a nascent world of sport psychology in India was the beginning of a very exploratory journey. 

With over nine years of experience in sport, performance, and behavior change settings, Maurelle is a Sport & Exercise Psychology consultant.Currently, Maurelle is a Doctoral Researcher and Graduate Teaching Assistant at Edge Hill University, UK, and serves as the Secretary of the Indian Sport Psychologists’ Association (INSPA).

Parth Parasher is currently practicing Sport Psychology in India. His main focus is developing positive youth development programs at residential schools all over the country. He has dual Masters degrees in Psychology and Sport Psychology from Glasgow and Loughborough University  respectively. 

Mudit is a sport and exercise psychology practitioner and educator based in India, with experience spanning grassroots to elite-level athletes. His professional interests lie in psychoeducation and the integration of technological advancements into sport psychology Practices

Priyanka Prabhakar is a psychologist based out of Bangalore. Priyanka has worked at Sports Authority of India as a Sports Psychologist. She has worked extensively with the Indian Hockey Men & Women’s Teams during Rio Olympics 2016 & Tokyo Olympics 2020 respectively. She has been the first psychologist from India to travel abroad for a competition with the Indian Women’s Hockey team. Priyanka is a private practitioner and she is a trained Systemic and Family constellation Facilitator from Spanda Asia and Ochre Ireland.

Dr. Sahen Gupta is a British Psychological Society (BPS) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) accredited sport psychologist, currently serving as a Senior Lecturer in Applied Sport Psychology at the University of Portsmouth. He is the Founder and Head Consultant of Discovery Sport & Performance Lab and a Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Sport (NIS), India.​ He is also a published author, contributing to titles such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in Sport and Performance and Research Methods in Applied Sport Psychology.

Vaishali Chaudhary is a counseling psychologist specializing in sports, with experience working with elite and non-elite athletes across individual, team, winter and water sports.She has worked with the Inspire Institute of Sport and the Sports Authority of India, providing psychological support to athletes at various stages of their careers.

Ayan is a Performance Consultant with seven years of experience supporting athletes in diverse sports. She earned a PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences from the University of Glasgow, focusing her research on sleep, dietary habits, and food choices. She also holds an MSc in the Psychology of Sport from the University of Stirling in Scotland and an MA specializing in Clinical Psychology from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara.

Gauri Shringarpure is a mental health practitioner specializing in positive psychology, self-care, and gender-sexuality training. With over 25 years of experience in consumer behavior research and ethnography, and more than one and a half decade of mental health work, she brings a unique perspective to her therapeutic practice. Gauri serves as faculty for the Mariwala Health Initiative’s Queer Affirmative Counselling Practice (QACP) Certificate Course, where she trains mental health professionals in anti-oppressive, queer-affirmative therapeutic approaches. Her work focuses on integrating insights from consumer behavior and positive psychology into mental health practices, emphasizing self-care and well-being.   

Amalina has an educational background in psychology and social science, and has conducted research on a variety of social science topics. Through her work as a training associate at MHI, she is involved in the administration, impact assessment and research related to MHI’s various training programs on marginalisation and gender-sexuality. Through her work and in her personal life, she is interested in advocating for queer-trans rights.

Parinaaz Irani, a sport and performance psychologist is the founder of InnerPeak, a company focused on empowering leaders and performers towards balancing

performance with wellbeing. With an educational background in both sport psychology and clinical psychology, she has worked with several athletes and coaches in in different sports,

predominantly cricket, football, golf, ten track and field and badminton.

Maana Patel is an elite Indian backstroke swimmer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, renowned for breaking national records and earning multiple national and international titles. At just 13, she set a new record in the 200m backstroke at the Junior National Aquatics Championship, marking the start of her impressive career. Maana has since secured 32 international medals, 99 national medals, and 31 national records, including golds at the South Asian Games and the Senior National Aquatic Championships. 

Manisha Ramdass is an accomplished Indian para-badminton player known for her outstanding achievements in international competitions. Manisha also secured a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, cementing her place among the best in the sport. In 2022 alone, she won 11 gold and 5 bronze medals and was named BWF Female Para Badminton Player of the Year. Supported by Olympic Gold Quest, Manisha continues to inspire athletes and lead the way for future stars in para-badminton.

Ashwini Nachappa is a former international track and field athlete and Arjuna Award recipient, who represented India at the Asian Games, South Asian Federation Games, and World Championships. Over the course of her athletic career, she brought home multiple medals and inspired a generation of athletes. Beyond the track, Ashwini is a dedicated educationist, social worker, and actor. She founded a school to support youth development through education and currently serves as President of the Bangalore Urban District Athletics Association. Her multifaceted journey continues to influence and uplift the sporting and educational landscape in India.

 Aditi Mutatkar is a five-time national badminton champion who represented India for over 16 years on the international circuit. A silver medalist in the mixed team event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she reached a career-high world ranking of 27 in 2008. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Texas and a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy from the Takshashila Institution. Aditi currently leads Athlete and Women initiatives at Simply Sport Foundation. Her experience informs her current work supporting athletes’ holistic development.

Darshan NK is a seasoned sports management professional with over a decade of experience in India's sports industry. He currently serves as the Head of Programs and Fundraising at Simply Sport Foundation, where he leads initiatives aimed at developing grassroots sports and supporting athlete welfare. Darshan's prior roles include positions at Cure.Fit, XLR8 Indoor Sports Arena, and Lagardère Sports, where he focused on partnerships, talent scouting, and venue operations. His passion for sports development is evident through his involvement in major events like the London 2012 Olympics and the Davis Cup. An avid football enthusiast, Darshan is committed to creating meaningful pathways for Indian athletes to succeed on the global stage.​

Professor Chris Harwood is a renowned sport psychologist and Director of the Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, Chris has made significant contributions to the field of sport psychology, particularly in athlete development, wellbeing, and performance. His research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of youth sport and the integration of psychological principles into athletic environments.

Harini Priyadharshini Muralidharan is a dynamic professional with a passion for sports medicine and team management. She currently serves as the Team Manager and Doctor for the RCB Women's team, where she combines her expertise in sports medicine with team operations. Harini is also the Founder and Director of The Performance Doctor, an initiative dedicated to prehab and rehab, ensuring athletes are physically prepared for peak performance while managing injury prevention and recovery.

Dr. Chirag Thonse is a senior orthopedic surgeon with 14 years of experience, specializing in sports injuries, arthroscopy, and joint replacement surgeries. He has performed over 10,000 surgeries, including 7,000 arthroscopic ACL surgeries and 3,000 joint replacement procedures. Dr. Thonse is committed to providing quality, patient-centered orthopedic care, addressing a wide range of sports-related injuries and orthopedic conditions.

Shiny Surendran is one of India’s leading sports nutritionists, internationally recognized for her expertise in optimizing athletic performance. She was the first Indian to earn the Graduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition from the International Olympic Committee, and she holds certifications as a Level 2 ISAK Kinanthropometrist (New Zealand) and an Accredited Sports Dietitian (Sports Dietitians Australia).