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In Gujarat, a parallel genomics push: Help athletes, tribals

Gujarat’s sports genomics programme will run parallel to the ongoing tribal genome project, which has already sequenced 100 whole genomes.

Published on: Sep 15, 2026, 18:24:09 IST
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Gujarat has begun collecting DNA samples from athletes for a sports genomics project aimed at improving performance and managing injuries, decades after a government programme sought to develop elite athletes from the Siddi community due to their African ancestry but failed.

The first samples collected were from tennis players affiliated with the Gujarat State Tennis Association (GSTA). (HT Photo)
The first samples collected were from tennis players affiliated with the Gujarat State Tennis Association (GSTA). (HT Photo)

Gujarat’s sports genomics programme (SGP) will run parallel to the ongoing tribal genome project, which has already sequenced 100 whole genomes, making it the first such government-led effort in India. It also comes roughly four years ahead of the

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak

He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.

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