The role of Artificial Intelligence in today’s ever changing modern world extends way beyond our day to day activities, pervading various fields-including the field of sports, enabling better and smarter sports equipment design such as AI driven golf clubs, which analyse swing patterns and smart boxing gloves, equipped with sensors to help analyse punch speed, force and technique. AI helps foster long term engagement, with the introduction of a robotic dog in the 18th edition of the IPL, named “Champak”, a fan favourite, named as per the results of an online poll.
The introduction of DRS (Decision Review System) in the cricketing world, with features like Ball Tracking and “UltraEdge” or “Snicko”, helped provide the most accurate decision on field, thus reducing the amount of fallacies by a significant amount. Moreover, technologies like “Hawk-Eye” and “Virtual Eye”, commonly used in many sports across the globe, use Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision to track the ball’s trajectory and assist in decision making.
Suryakumar Yadav, a very capable Indian batter, was dismissed for just 18 off 28 balls in the 2023 World Cup final. This was made possible by a deep analysis of his game by the Aussies, who had identified his strength, which was pace on the ball, and thus peppered him with slow, short balls. The integration of Artificial Intelligence can, similarly, provide deep insights into the game, helping formulate better strategies and training plans based on the strengths and weaknesses of different opponents, thus proving to be a game-changer in crucial situations.
The fans are able to interact with the sport on a completely different level with the introduction of Predictive modelling of AI in Virtual Reality games which provide the user with a very realistic atmosphere of the game from the comfort of their homes. One such example is the “Metashot”, an immersive Cricket Console Game and the “Eleven Table Tennis” which is known for its accurate game physics and a very realistic replication of the actual tense atmosphere during a high voltage Table Tennis clash. The industry of Fantasy Gaming has also been revamped by the integration of AI models. Now, fans can use in-app features which actively analyse performance trends of specific players against specific teams and opponents and thus help users to pick the best players based on stats and patterns, not just gut feeling.
The collaboration between Artificial Intelligence and the sporting world breaches the boundaries of athlete development and game strategy. Several fitness trackers, now with the integrated use of AI, have become so advanced that they can keep track of each and every statistic linked to the player’s body. This advanced monitoring system in a compact structure such as a wrist band facilitate workout enhancement, improved health tracking and deliver personalized, highly effective fitness plans. Furthermore, modern day sports such as Formula 1 heavily rely on advanced AI based race simulations for athlete training. These simulators provide a very realistic, yet virtual environment which replicates the feel of an actual Formula 1 car and thus allows the drivers to practise on different tracks and conditions without posing any risks linked to actual on-track driving. This helps the drivers to familiarize themselves with different racing circuits, understanding crucial information linked to different tracks like braking points or cornering speeds, thus helping to improve their reaction times and decision making skills, and minimizing injury risks posed by high racing speeds on unfamiliar circuits.
The offside rule in football was based purely on human judgement before the introduction of VAR (Video Assistant Referee). Therefore, controversial goal disallowances due to offside in crucial games, not only turned the game on its head, but also caused outrage among the fans, who used phrases like “Well Paid” for the teams benefitted by the controversial decision; a catchy modification of the phrase “Well Played”. Advanced VAR uses AI and Computer Vision to create a 3-D Model of the football field and map the live location of all the players. This significantly helped the referees in making decisions and the amount of games won by controversial decisions reduced significantly. As proper video evidence was available, new defending strategies such as “The Offside Trap” started being used by defenders in high tension games. This tactic involved the joint run of all defenders in the forward direction as soon as the attacker is about to receive a pass in a dangerous area of the defending team. This causes the play made by the attacking team to be flagged as “offside” and the ball possession is handed over to the defending team.
The use of AI has drastically improved the sporting world. It provides an environment which is highly competitive, yet significantly safer than the early days of sports. AI has introduced great advances in the sporting industry, in its initial years, which is an indicator of its remarkable potential to completely transform the game in the years to follow.
-Author – Ojas Madan
