Sports Stars are masters of performing under pressure, harnessing immense focus and determination to propel them to exceeding their goals. These principles of peak performance, team building, and motivation extend beyond the track or cricket field, and right into our offices. Read on to learn from the world’s best Sports Stars how we can develop the world’s best employees and have the world’s best companies.

Many business leaders seek keynote speakers to inspire and educate their team on topics such as: team building, leadership, and best practices. Who, could be more informed and qualified to speak on these topics than an Sports Star ? Sports persons build careers around leadership, team building, innovation, and best-practices skills; all in high-pressure situations. Below, we feature the top Sports speakers of 2016 or years past, who will inspire your team, teaching them skills needed to go for the gold at your company.  

Rahul Dravid : former Indian cricketer, who captained the national Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket teams. Described as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. Through mental preparation, his determination to win, and, as his team member says, a willingness to “make habit out of things other people aren’t willing to do,” Rahul has become an expert on talking points such as self-motivation,team building, emotional intelligence, and peak performance. 

Pankaj Advani : 16-time World Billiards and Snooker Champion, Pankaj Advani - the only player in the world to win world titles in all formats of both, Billiards and Snooker. Pankaj The 16-time World Champion in cue sports won his first world title when he was just 18 and is the only person in the world to have ever won both the Billiards and Snooker World Championships in all formats. His ambition, poised demeanor, mental toughness, and relentless drive have proven him to be an expert on such topics as attaining peak performance, self-motivation, emotional intelligence, and peak performance.

Pullela Gopichand : ​There are those who drive themselves to make their passion the reason for their success and there are those whose passion also drives people to achieve success. Pullela Gopichand, is one such person to have done both. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001 becoming the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team and runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy. Gopichand not only brought laurels to the country, but also coached a young badminton player – P.V Sindhu – to achieve the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. He received the Arjuna Award in 1999, the Dronacharya Award in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Anil Kumble : Current head coach of the India national cricket team and a former Indian cricketer who also captained the team. Greatest Indian Spinner of All Time, Former Indian Team Captain & Entrepreneur.
Anil Kumble is without doubt India's greatest Indian bowler of all time - not only in terms of wickets, but also by being a member of the winning team on more occasions than any other bowler in the history of Indian cricket. Be it Test matches or ODIs, Anil has always been a match-winner. 

Paddy Upton : Coach, leader, high performer, academic, innovator. Paddy has achieved coaching success at the highest levels of sport and business, globally. Has successfully coached a variety of elite sport and business teams and individuals to take their game to even greater heights. He facilitated two international cricket teams to the world’s number 1 ranking; won a Cricket World Cup, and led bottom-of-the-log underdogs to Champions League finalists in one 10-week season.He lives his professional and personal life whole-heartedly. Pursuing success, innovation, relationships, health, adventure and enjoyment with equal enthusiasm. Questioning convention and happiest operating out the box, he is constantly searching for new experiences and better ways of doing things.

Sakshi Malik ; It is not over till the final whistle. No one could prove this age-old adage better than Sakshi Malik. Sakshi Malik scripted history by becoming the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal and only fourth female athlete from the country to climb to the podium at the biggest sporting event in the world. Sakshi has become an expert on talking points such as self-motivation, emotional intelligence, and peak performance. This Olympic dynamo’s mantra says it all: “You can’t put a limit on anything.”

Sports Stars embody the combination of leadership and teamwork that corporations value in their employees. They are also experts in emotional intelligence, best practices, and attaining and sustaining peak performance. So, when only a hard-working and winning attitude will do, consider booking an Sports speaker for your next event.

Deepa Malik, mother of two, overcame a spinal tumour, 31 surgeries and 183 stitches to win India a Silver medal at the ongoing Rio Paralympics.India's Deepa Malik scripted history when she won the silver medal in the women's shotput F53 event at the Rio Paralympics on Monday, with a personal best throw of 4.61m.

With this herculean effort, she became India's first woman and oldest athlete to ever win a medal at the Paralympics.

Deepa started off with a throw of 4.26m, then registered 4.49 on her second attempt and 4.41m on the third. On her sixth throw, she recorded a personal best of of 4.61m, which ultimately helped her finish second.

"I want to use this medal to support women with disabilities in India. This journey has been wonderful for me and my entire family, I am proud to be the oldest athlete in the team and win a medal."

Deepa is a paraplegic, paralysed from waist down. A spinal tumour confined her to a wheelchair 17 years ago, and she has been unable to walk since then. 

Deepa's distinctions in multiple sports, her various activities including 'Ability beyond Disability', her three Limca Book of World Records and her various medals in swimming at international competitions make her a unique athlete. She holds the Asian record in javelin throw, and also has World Championships silver medals in shot put and discus that she won in 2011.
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Perhaps her most adventurous step till date would be the 3,000 km journey she took from Delhi to Leh and back on a specially enabled car. The hand-controlled vehicle would take her through the Rohtang pass up until the highest motorable pass in the world, the Khardung La, at an elevation of 5,359m, according to a report by The Times of India. This record is especially remarkable when we take into account that Deepa has no control over her bladder and bowel movement and also has no control of her body beneath her chest.

​The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro may have finished but the world is still buzzing with the thrills the Best Athletes from over 200 countries created over the incredible two weeks - with team India putting in an awe inspiring performance.

Many current and Past Olympic Legends have gone on to  forge highly successful careers as celebrity speakers, sharing their experiences and delighting audiences with anecdotes from their action packed lives. 

Simply Life is proud to offer some of the Biggest names in Olympic sports for booking at your next private or corporate event, as well as other top - drawer speakers who have the most amazing stories to tell from the world of sports. 

If you would like to book any of these fantastic speakers for your next event, call Shipra Kapadia at Simply Life India Speakers Bureau on +918652835000 or email [email protected]

We are so proud to announce the appointment of our Speaker Legendary spinner Anil Kumble as coach of the Indian national Cricket side. Anil Kumble is the first Indian to be appointed full-time India coach since Kapil Dev resigned in September 2000.Wonderful news for a great man! ​

What makes our clients happy? Speakers who consistently go above and beyond. You can count on these favorites to be on-time, attend breakfasts or meet and Greet sessions, make time for Q&A, and always go the extra mile. Simply put, they will make you look good:

CAPT. RAGHU RAMAN_ : ​Distinguished Fellow - ORF , Author, former CEO NATGRID, ex-soldier & UN Peacekeeper. Former Captain in the  Indian Army  Columnist, Author, Keynote Speaker and Faculty for Leadership, Strategy & Change Management.
" ​The leadership talk on the Siachen Glacier was one of the most inspiring presentations I have heard in recent times. Raman a very clear persuasive presentation style and the content that has been put together makes me proud to be an Indian. " 

PRAKASH IYER : Motivational Speaker, Leadership Coach. Bestselling author of The Habit of Winning & the Secret of Leadership. 
“Prakash was a delight. He has the perfect combination of down-to-earth humor, genuine likeability, and frank, hard-earned business sense to relate to diverse audience members.”

JAMLING TENZING NORGAY  : Jamling Tenzing Norgay is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa Everest climber He is the son of Tenzing Norgay the first man to Climb Mount Everest. In his illustrated presentation, Touching My Father’s Soul – An Odyssey to the Top of Everest, Jamling brings to life a profound and compelling adventure, interweaving the lives of a family, a mountain and a people, and of climbers facing nearly insurmountable obstacles.  It is a story of disaster, triumph, professionalism and the resilience of the human spirit.  
“Our audience was spellbound with his demeanor.  He is so professional, so generous, so thoughtful … need I go on?” 

HARSHA & ANITA BHOGLE : Harsha and Anita  run a successful corporate speaking enterprise Prosearch Consultants and conduct a motivational series called The Winning Way --Lessons from sport for managers. It has received around 400 invitations. Harsha and Anita have also co-authored a book by the same name  that has sold over 100,000 copies and become a national bestseller.

ERIC SIEGEL : Former Columbia University professor founder of Predictive Analytics World and Text Analytics World, author of 'Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict  Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die. 
“I wish all of the speakers we hire were as effective and easy to get along with as Eric!" 

ROBIN SPECULAND  : Best Selling Author and Strategy Specialist. Robin Speculand is a global pioneer and specialist in strategy implementation and is driven in assisting leaders to successfully execute their strategy. He is the founder and Chief Executive of Bridges Business Consultancy Int and the creator of the Implementation Hub portal, the first portal in the world dedicated to strategy implementation. Robin is the first author in the world to publish three books on implementation. The international bestselling book Bricks to Bridges – Make Your Strategy Come Alive, set the benchmark for new thinking in his field.
" The perfect score says it all.  Robin’s presentation at our Global HR Conference inspired us to lead in uncertain times, gave us pages of real-world tactics to accelerate productivity and – in the end – moved us to open doors of possibility as individuals and as a team that left us feeling energized, empowered and confident we can make a difference individually and collectively.”
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If you’d like more information on these speakers, please fill out the form below. ​