Parth Jindal-backed Centre Court Capital closes maiden fund at Rs 410 crore to invest in startups

Centre Court Capital has closed its maiden sports and gaming focused venture fund at Rs 410 crore, exceeding the original Rs 350 crore target announced in early 2024. The fund had secured Rs 200 crore at its initial close.

The vehicle is anchored by Parth Jindal, who leads JSW Group’s cement and paint business. It is backed by domestic institutional investors including SIDBI and the government’s Self Reliant India fund.

Family offices such as Premji Invest, SanRaj Group and GMR Sports have also committed capital. Support has come from sports and media personalities including Neeraj Chopra, Rishabh Pant, PV Sindhu and Jemimah Rodrigues, along with entrepreneurs Binny Bansal, Mithun Sacheti and Ankit Nagori.

The fund will deploy capital over the first four years and aims to build a portfolio of 15 to 18 companies. It will back ventures across sports, fitness, wellness and social gaming with initial ticket sizes of Rs 8 crore to Rs 24 crore. The firm has kept significant reserves for follow on rounds and intends to lead or co lead most deals.

“We are grateful to our investors for backing a focused vision for sport and gaming from India. The opportunity is large and growing. Recent industry estimates value India’s broader sports economy at about $19 billion today, expected to reach nearly $40 billion by 2030,” said Mustafa Ghouse, Founder and General Partner at Centre Court Capital.