Noida: Noida is often defined by its expressways, corporate offices and towering residential complexes. But beyond its rapidly changing skyline lies another story, one of young athletes chasing dreams, stepping onto training grounds and hoping one day to represent India on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
For entrepreneur and BITS Pilani alumnus Mukesh Sharma, that possibility is at the heart of his vision for the city. A first-generation entrepreneur, Sharma founded QA InfoTech in 2003, built it into a global company and exited the business in 2021. His focus subsequently shifted towards education, sports and social impact.
His larger ambition is now to help create an ecosystem in Noida where children can discover their sporting potential, access professional training and have a pathway from grassroots competition to the national and international stage.
From entrepreneurship to building sporting opportunities
Sharma’s journey into education and sports took a significant turn in 2017 when he founded Prometheus School and Prometheus Sports Academy. The academy offers coaching across disciplines including shooting, table tennis through Anshul Garg Academy, badminton and swimming.
The objective extends beyond simply providing sporting facilities. The larger idea is to create an environment where young athletes can train seriously while pursuing their education. One example of what such an ecosystem can produce is Archana Kamath, who represented India in table tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics after training at Prometheus Sports Academy for two years.
Her Olympic appearance provided a visible milestone for the sporting programme and offered young athletes in Noida a tangible example of how professional training can lead to the highest level of competition.
Building professional sports franchises
Sharma’s involvement in sport also extends beyond grassroots development. He owns UP Prometheans franchises across three sports, creating a connection between young athletes and professional sporting platforms. The UP Prometheans table tennis team made its debut in Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7, marking the franchise’s entry into one of India’s prominent professional table tennis competitions.
The sporting portfolio also extends to golf. UP Prometheans became the first franchise announced for the PGTI’s inaugural 72 The League. The team topped the league stage before finishing as runners-up. Sharma has also acquired the UP franchise in the Shooting League of India, although its inaugural season is yet to be held.
For Sharma, these investments represent another part of the sporting ecosystem — creating opportunities not only for young players but also for professional sport to develop a stronger presence in the region.
From talent discovery to the podium
The next part of the vision is identifying talent before it reaches professional academies. Through initiatives such as Noida Talent Hunt and Mission Podium Finish, Sharma aims to identify and nurture sporting talent across Noida. The philosophy is straightforward: talent should not be limited by whether a child happens to have access to the right facilities or professional guidance.
A city that wants to produce Olympians needs an ecosystem that begins much earlier, with schools, coaches, academies, competitions and opportunities to identify promising athletes. The aim is therefore not simply to produce successful teams or individual athletes but to establish a pathway through which a young child can progress from discovering a sport to competing at increasingly higher levels.
Education remains part of the larger vision
Sharma’s work is not limited to sport. Through the Gauri Shiksha Foundation, he supports education and nutrition for underserved children. That work reflects a broader approach to social impact, creating opportunities for children both inside and outside the sporting arena.
The combination of education, nutrition and sports is particularly significant at the grassroots level, where access to basic resources can determine whether a talented child gets an opportunity to develop their potential.
Reimagining Noida’s identity
Noida’s identity has traditionally been associated with infrastructure and economic growth. Its expressways, technology companies, commercial centres and high-rise developments have become symbols of the city’s transformation. But a city’s identity can also be measured by the opportunities it creates for its youngest residents.
That is the idea behind Sharma’s vision of a Noida that is known not only for what it has built but also for the opportunities it creates and the champions it produces. From Prometheus Sports Academy to professional franchises, from talent hunts to Mission Podium Finish, the effort is aimed at building connections across different stages of an athlete’s journey.
The Olympic podium may be the ultimate destination for a select few. But the larger measure of success could lie much earlier, in giving thousands of children the opportunity to find their sport, access quality training and believe that a dream that begins in Noida can eventually take them to the world stage.