'Studying in the UK transformed my career in global sport and media.'

Taruka Srivastava is a former Asian Games athlete, sports journalist and founder of The Playknox, a sports business and marketing platform based in India. Originally from Gorakhpur in northern India, she received a British Council GREAT Scholarship to study an MA in Sports Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University.

Since graduating, she has worked with organisations including Manchester United, Formula 1, UNICEF and the BBC.

She shares how studying in the UK helped her build confidence, create international connections and open doors to opportunities she once never imagined possible.

‘I grew up in stadiums, but I never imagined I’d one day work at Manchester United’

Sport was always around me growing up.

My mum was a gymnastics coach in India in the 1990s, at a time when it still felt unusual to see women building careers in sport. Because of her, I grew up in stadiums and sports hostels.

I was raised in Gorakhpur in northern India, and growing up my world felt quite small.

I still remember hearing someone talk about Manchester United when I was about 11 years old. I actually asked, “What is Manchester United?” because I genuinely had no idea.

Years later, I ended up working there.

Sometimes I look back at old photos of myself sitting in stadiums with my mum and think about how life somehow took me from there to Old Trafford.

Before moving to the UK, I had represented India in tennis at the 2010 Asian Games and studied political science. I loved sport and storytelling, but I still wasn’t sure what direction my career would take.

Then one day I came across a newspaper advert for a GREAT Scholarship focused on sports journalism in the UK.

Something just clicked for me.

‘Studying in the UK made the sports industry feel accessible to me’

When I arrived in Sheffield, one of the biggest differences was how connected the course felt to the real sports industry.

It wasn’t only about lectures and assignments. We were encouraged to meet people, build relationships and gain experience while we were still students.

For the first time, the sports industry stopped feeling far away and started to feel like something I could actually be part of.

At one point during my studies, I was convinced I’d get work experience with one of the football clubs in Sheffield because of my sporting background.

I didn’t get either opportunity. At the time, I remember feeling really disappointed.

But living in the UK had already made me much bolder about reaching out to people, so instead of giving up, I kept emailing people.

Eventually, I got a reply from Richard Arnold, who was then managing director of Manchester United.

I honestly couldn’t believe he had emailed me back. That one conversation completely changed the direction of my career.

Soon after, I was doing work experience with Manchester United’s digital and media teams, helping with campaigns, content and matchday media operations.

A lot of the people I met during that time are still part of my professional life more than ten years later.

One of the people I worked with at Manchester United now leads global digital content for Formula 1, and we still work together today.

That’s one of the biggest things studying in the UK gave me – relationships and networks that continued long after I graduated.

‘A UK education gave me confidence to work internationally’

Studying in the UK changed my confidence completely.

Before moving abroad, even travelling alone within India sometimes felt intimidating to me. Suddenly I was living independently in another country, figuring things out for myself and meeting people from all over the world.

As a woman working in sport, especially coming from a smaller city rather than somewhere like Mumbai or Delhi, confidence matters a lot.

Studying in the UK made me feel like I deserved to be in those rooms too.

Today, my work includes journalism, consultancy, athlete management and international sports projects across football, cricket, boxing and motorsport.

I’ve worked at major events including the FIFA U-17 World Cup and Hockey World Cup 2018, and I also contribute to Stanford University’s Sports Equity Lab.

When I look back now, almost every major opportunity in my career links back in some way to relationships or experiences that started in the UK.

‘The relationships I built in the UK still shape my career today’

Today, I run my own company, The Playknox, where I work with athletes from grassroots backgrounds who may not otherwise have access to sponsorship or professional support.

As a former athlete myself, that part of the work is really important to me.

One of the young cricketers I supported didn’t even have equipment sponsorship when we first met. I helped create his professional portfolio and connected him with a sponsor.

Later, he became one of the most expensive players bought in the Indian Premier League auction.

Moments like that are the reason I still love this work.

I also deliver media training for young athletes and work closely with projects linked to youth development and sport in India.

‘Studying in the UK changed what I believed was possible’

Sometimes I still think about being a child sitting in stadiums with my mum, and it’s hard to believe where life has taken me since then.

Studying in the UK helped me find a career, but it also changed what I believed was possible for my life.

It gave me confidence, connections and access to an industry that once felt very far away.

If someone from a small city in India can go on to work with organisations like Manchester United, Formula 1 and the BBC, then other young people can do it too.

My advice to anyone thinking about studying in the UK is simple: keep putting yourself forward.

You never know which conversation or opportunity might completely change the direction of your life.