On the occasion of National Sports Day, actor Mohit Malhotra opens up about his lifelong passion for sports, his evolving fitness journey, and the mental resilience he draws from playing games.
Growing up in Delhi, sports were a constant for Mohit long before formal gym routines entered the frame. “Sports were a big part of my life growing up, long before fitness became part of my routine. Cricket was always around—there was a big ground right in front of our house in Delhi, so after school, you’d drop your bag and end up playing. I also played badminton in inter-school competitions, picked up basketball, and enjoyed table tennis because it was so quick and instinctive.”
While his childhood centred around fast-paced sports, Mohit has recently discovered a new rhythm through golf, a sport that challenges his patience and mindset. “Golf forces you to slow down. Most of the sports I grew up playing were about reacting quickly, but golf is the opposite. You have time to think about every shot. You can hit one shot beautifully and completely mess up the next—it keeps you humble. I’m just enjoying the process and celebrating the good shots when they come.”
For Mohit, genuine physical ability stands out far more than gym-sculpted aesthetics, drawing a distinct line between looking fit and being athletic.
“What impresses me is someone who is naturally athletic rather than someone who simply looks fit. You can tell when someone played sports growing up by their movement, coordination, and reflexes. I’ve also always had a real fascination with gymnastics and extreme endurance sports—the level of control and physical discipline involved is crazy. If I could swap training regimes with any professional athlete for a week, I’d pick Neeraj Chopra to experience that combination of explosive power, speed, mobility, and technique.”
The discipline built through sports has heavily influenced how Mohit approaches fitness and copes with the ups and downs of the entertainment industry. “Fitness has been part of my life for a long time, but the biggest change was moving from thinking about fitness purely in terms of looks to focusing on how your body actually performs. Sport also taught me my mental strategy for handling rejection or tough days: acknowledge the disappointment without letting it define you. You win, you lose, you learn, and then you show up again.”
