From Prime Time to Play Time: Nivedita Basu’s Powerful Second Innings in Sports

From shaping some of Indian television’s most iconic “K” shows during her long creative journey with Balaji Telefilms, to moving into the OTT space with platforms like ULLU, Atrangii, and Hari Om, Nivedita Basu has constantly reinvented herself across industries. And now, in perhaps her most unexpected transition yet, the media creator and entertainment strategist has stepped into a world nobody traditionally associates with a “media girl” — competitive sports.

What began with squash, her original sport and personal passion, slowly evolved into something far bigger. Today, her sporting life includes squash, pickleball, cricket, and throwball — an intensely active lifestyle that often sees her playing two to three sports a day, seven days a week.

But for Nivedita, this is no longer just about fitness. It is about competition, discipline, adrenaline, and constantly pushing herself beyond limits.

And she isn’t just participating — she’s competing and winning.

From winning the Best Female Player title in an under-arm cricket league, to being awarded Best Female Batsman in a school cricket tournament, to winning the Women’s Singles Squash Tournament, Nivedita has steadily built her identity as a serious sporting competitor.

For her, competitive sport brings a high that no gym session or routine workout ever can.

This year, she chose to celebrate her birthday not through parties or glamour, but on the squash court and the throwball court — exactly where she feels most alive.

And perhaps that defines her new outlook best.

Her message to friends today is simple and honest:
“You may call me for parties, launches, or events and I may not always make it. But if you call me for a sport, I’ll leave everything and come.”

Through her platform, Women and Racket Sports (WARS), she aims to build a stronger ecosystem for women across six racket sports — squash, badminton, tennis, pickleball, padel, and table tennis. Her vision is simple yet powerful: more opportunities, more tournaments, more categories, more participation, and more visibility for women of every age group.

She strongly believes that very few women from the media and entertainment industry actively take up sports as a consistent lifestyle, and she hopes to inspire more women to step onto courts and playgrounds — not necessarily to become professionals, but to rediscover confidence, strength, friendships, and joy.

For someone who spent years building stories for audiences, she is now building real-life stories on courts, fields, and sporting communities — one woman at a time.

A creator.
A disruptor.
A competitor.
And now, a catalyst for women in sports