Robotics competitions are no longer small events involving a few teams. They have grown into large international competitions involving young people from many countries. FGC® is one of the clearest examples. Students from more than 190 countries come together to compete in the same international robotics challenge. They design and build robots, develop strategies, work as teams, and compete under a common set of rules. The scale of these competitions tells us something important. Robotics is already a global competitive activity. The question of recognition is therefore not about creating something that does not exist. It is about deciding how we should recognise something that is already happening. 9.1 A Competition Without Borders One of the most striking features of robotics competitions is their international nature. At FGC® , students from different countries come together at the same event. They may speak different languages, come from different cultures, and have very different experiences. Yet they arrive with the same basic goal: to compete in a robotics challenge. The teams must understand the same rules and solve the same problem. They have to prepare their robots, develop strategies, and work with other teams during the competition. This creates something very different from a local school competition. Students are not only competing against people from their own city or country. They are becoming part of an international community of young robotics competitors. Robotics has already crossed national borders. But international competition is only one part of the story. Countries are also beginning to think about how robotics should be recognised. 9.2 Countries Are Taking Notice The growth of robotics competitions has led some countries to take the next step and officially recognise robotics as a sport. Belize became the first country to officially declare robotics a sport in 2023. Indonesia followed in 2024. Fiji and Saudi Arabia have also taken steps towards official recognition. These decisions are significant because they show that the idea of robotics as a sport is no longer only a discussion among students, teachers, or robotics enthusiasts. Governments and sports organisations in some countries are beginning to consider the question as well. Recognition does not change what happens inside a robotics match. Teams still have to build their robots, develop strategies, and compete. What changes is how the activity is officially viewed and supported. Recognition can also create opportunities for robotics to be included more naturally in discussions about sports, competitions, training, education, and youth development. But what does this question look like in India? 9.3 Team India Enters the Arena STEM Education Trust (SET), which manages the selection and preparation of Team India, has been working to create a pathway for students to participate in FGC® . Representing India at the FGC® is not simply a matter of registering a team and travelling to the international competition. A team has to earn that opportunity through a selection process. In this way, the process has something in common with many sports. An athlete does not simply decide to represent India at an international sporting event. Athletes train and compete at different levels, and national competitions and selection trials are used to identify those who will represent the country. The Team India selection process follows a similar idea. Teams compete at the national level, and the winning team earns the opportunity to represent India internationally. I became part of Team India in 2023 and was again part of the team in 2024. In 2023, my team, LegoGoa, was selected as Team India. SET conducted a national STEM Challenge in which teams competed against one another. The winning team then went through a series of interviews before the students were selected to represent India at the FGC® . Over the years, the effort has grown beyond simply selecting a team for an international competition. SET and Team India have also been working to create greater awareness about competitive robotics and to encourage discussion about whether robotics should be recognised as a sport in India. We had the opportunity to meet the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, and discuss the importance of recognising robotics as a sport. During a WSRO regional competition held in Goa, we also tried to bring the idea directly to the audience. Posters carrying the simple message “Robotics as Sport” were displayed for students, participants, parents, teachers, and mentors to see. The message was deliberately simple. It was not claiming that robotics had already been officially recognised as a sport. Instead, it was a way of putting the idea in front of people, including decisionmakers, and starting a conversation. This book is intended to create awareness at multiple levels. Imagine the impact when this message reaches students, teachers, mentors, parents, robotics teams, and policymakers in India. I will also take the discussion to the international robotics community by sharing the book with participating countries at the FGC® and making it available through my website. My aim is not simply to argue that robotics should be declared a sport. I want more people to understand what competitive robotics actually involves and to think about why it deserves to be considered alongside other competitive activities. I have also seen the Team India selection process change over the years. As mentioned earlier, in 2023, my team, LegoGoa, became Team India after winning a national STEM Challenge organised by SET, followed by interviews. By 2026, I could see how much the selection process had grown. 9.4 Team India 2026 The numbers tell the story. This year, 145 robotics teams applied with the hope of becoming Team India. Based on their previous performance and interviews, 20 teams were shortlisted for the national competition, the Bhartiya Yantra Khel Mahotsava (BYKM), organised by SET. SET, in association with XRP, distributed XRP kits to the registered teams and provided them with a few months to prepare for the national competition. The teams had to design, build, and program their robots, develop strategies, and prepare for the competition. A series of interviews assessed the students’ understanding of robotics, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. The shortlisted teams then had to demonstrate these skills in the competition. Building a good robot was only one part of the challenge; the teams also had to communicate, work together, solve problems, and perform under pressure. The national event in Bengaluru brought together students, men62 tors, teachers, parents, and guests. For the participating students, it was an opportunity to compete at a national level and prove that their team was ready to represent India. At the end of the competition, Tech Infinity from Goa emerged as the winning team and became Team India 2026. Five students would now carry the responsibility of representing India at the FGC® in South Korea. Only one team could earn that opportunity. This is perhaps the simplest way to understand the scale of the selection process. One hundred and forty-five teams wanted the opportunity. Twenty made it to the national-level competition. One team won. That is the same basic idea behind a national championship in many sports: compete, qualify, win, and earn the right to represent your country. 9.5 Five Members, One Team Now, let me introduce the five students who make up Team India 2026. Winning the national competition does not mean that all five members of Team India do the same thing. Each member has a different role and brings different abilities to the team. With the guidance and support of their mentor, Anay Kamat, these individual strengths came together to form a team that was ready to take on the challenges of the competition and compete for the win. Like players on a sports team, they have different roles that come together to produce one performance. Soham and Dhruv are the team’s drivers, while Avaneesh focuses on design. Sparsh and Anam contribute to robot maintenance, programming, communication, and other team responsibilities. Each member brings difTeam India 2026 ferent skills, but they must work together during a match. One moment during the BYKM demonstrated why this matters. In their quarterfinal match, electromagnetic interference caused the robot to freeze for about 30 seconds. In a match lasting only 2 minutes and 30 seconds, this was a serious setback. When the robot started working again, the drivers immediately returned to the match and made the most of the remaining time. Tech Infinity went on to win the quarterfinal. The incident showed that competitive robotics requires more than technical knowledge. Teams must stay calm, adapt to unexpected problems, communicate, and continue performing under pressure. A football team does not need five goalkeepers. A cricket team does not need eleven identical players. Different strengths and responsibilities make a team stronger. Competitive robotics works in much the same way. 9.6 More Than a Competition The Team India journey represents two connected developments. The first is the creation of a genuine national pathway through which students can compete, develop their skills, and earn the opportunity to represent India. The second is the growing effort to make people think differently about robotics and consider whether these competitions deserve the recognition given to other competitive activities. The question is no longer whether Indian students can compete in robotics. We already do. We compete at international events. We train for new challenges. We work in teams, face pressure, solve unexpected problems, and compete for the opportunity to represent our country. Robotics competitions have become international, and some countries have already begun to recognise robotics as a sport. All of this suggests that robotics is not waiting to become a competitive activity. It already is one. But recognising robotics as a sport would be more than giving it a new label. It could affect how these competitions are viewed, supported, and developed. It could open new opportunities for students and teams. It could also bring new responsibilities, expectations, and challenges. So, what would recognition actually mean for robotics?