Nagaland’s Athoni Rhetso becomes the first woman from North East to be appointed High Performance Director at SAI
KOHIMA — From studying human biological variation to helping athletes reach peak performance, Dr. Athoni Rhetso’s career has taken an unconventional path. Recently appointed High Performance Director at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), she is the first woman from the North East to hold the position.
In an exclusive interview with Eastern Mirror, Rhetso spoke about her transition from anthropology to sports science, her experience working with elite athletes and the importance of scientific approaches to athletic performance.
Her entry into sports science began by chance when she came across a recruitment notification in 2013. Trained as an anthropologist, she had always been interested in understanding how biology, culture and environment come together to shape human beings. Her curiosity about sports and love for research made the opportunity particularly appealing.
“Combined with my curiosity about sports and a strong love of research, the opportunity felt less like a career choice and more like a calling. It offered a chance to turn curiosity into a profession,” she said.
After completing the selection process, she joined SAI in 2014 as a Junior Scientific Officer at the National Sports Science Centre (NSSC), Bengaluru.
“If the classroom had taught me the grammar of science, NSSC Bengaluru taught me its poetry. Here, data had a heartbeat: every measurement carried a name, a sport and a dream, and every result had to prove itself not on paper but on the field of play,” she recalled.
From anthropology to high performance
Rhetso’s background in anthropology, particularly anthropometry, became the cornerstone of her work. Through the study and measurement of human physical characteristics, she examined how athletes’ bodies aligned with the demands of different sports, contributing to talent identification and performance development.
Working alongside professionals from other sports science disciplines also exposed her to an integrated approach to athlete development, including performance monitoring, injury prevention and rehabilitation.
The experience shifted her focus from theory to practical application, allowing her to work directly with athletes and coaches. It also laid the foundation for her progression to Scientific Officer and eventually High Performance Director.
She has also contributed to sports science education through teaching in diploma and postgraduate programmes, as well as refresher courses for coaches.
“I see this exchange between research, practice and teaching as essential to developing the next generation of coaches and sports science practitioners. The progression also taught me that while good science depends on asking the right questions, high performance requires ensuring that the answers translate into action,” she said.
Over the years, she has worked with elite athletes across disciplines such as athletics, badminton, hockey, table tennis, shooting, swimming, weightlifting, taekwondo and kabaddi. She has also worked with para-athletes, including Paralympic medallists.
Her experience working with athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and World Championships has reinforced her understanding that every athlete has a distinct biological profile shaped by genetics, growth, development and environment.
“My background in physical anthropology, with its focus on human biological variation, helps me understand these individual differences and their implications for athletic performance. While training develops an athlete’s abilities, understanding their biological characteristics helps us tailor the right approach to their development,” she explained.
A new responsibility
Having been in the position of High Performance Director for just a month and a half, Rhetso said she was still familiarising herself with the responsibilities and priorities of the role.
“Having grown within SAI since 2014, I see this not as an arrival but as a new beginning, and an opportunity to give back to the system that shaped me,” she said.
Her role involves bringing different scientific disciplines together, supporting coaches and practitioners, and promoting evidence-based approaches to performance monitoring, injury prevention, talent identification and athlete development.
For now, she said, her priority was to understand the system closely and build on the foundation already in place.
Being from the North East makes the appointment particularly meaningful to her. She hopes her journey will encourage more young people from the region to explore careers in sports science and recognise that opportunities in sport extend beyond the playing field.
“As a woman from the North East, I have often stood in rooms where few looked like me or shared my story. I have come to see that presence itself as a quiet statement: that we belong here, and that talent and capability know no geography or gender,” she said.
One of the defining decisions was leaving her post-PhD research fellowship under the Women Scientists Scheme-B (WOS-B) midway to join SAI.
“I was moving from the relative familiarity of academic research into sports science, a field that was still emerging, with few established pathways and limited representation from the North East. The early years required me to step out of my comfort zone, learn quickly and navigate many uncertainties,” she recalled.
Looking back, she said the decision had strengthened her belief in perseverance and the courage to explore unfamiliar fields.
“To every woman who has ever been the only one in the room, I would say this: do not shrink to fit the space. Grow until the space makes room for you,” she said.
Understanding sports science
Explaining the importance of sports science, Rhetso said the years of preparation behind an athlete’s medal-winning performance often involved scientific interventions.
“Sports science is about understanding the athlete as a whole: how the body moves, how it responds to training, what it needs to recover, and how the mind performs under pressure. It helps us identify talent early, keep athletes healthy, and guide them towards their full potential,” she explained.
The field draws on sports medicine, physiology, biomechanics, anthropometry, sports psychology, nutrition, physiotherapy, and strength and conditioning, supported by technology and performance analytics.
She also highlighted the importance of practical experience for those interested in pursuing a career in the field. Communication and teamwork are equally important, she said, as sports science practitioners work closely with coaches and athletes.
She encouraged young aspirants to keep learning and gain practical experience through internships and by working with teams.
“You may begin with an interest in one particular area, but sports science constantly gives you reasons to keep asking questions, and that is part of what makes the field so rewarding,” she said.