(April 8, 2026) When Sagar Kinger received his admission letter from Belfast’s Ulster University, he had to look up where the Northern Ireland-based city was. That was 2022. By the time he left Belfast in early 2026, he had completed a master’s degree and worked across three retail roles. He had also played cricket for two local clubs and helped a handful of people find housing through connections he had built. Along the way, he engaged in charity work, earned a full UK driving licence, and became a reliable employee at the premium watch and jewellery chain Goldsmiths.
“I just walked in with an open mind and open arms,” he says of that first arrival in a chat with The Global Indian. But despite building a life there, his visa did not allow him to stay in the UK. The experience, however, stayed with him.
Sagar brings 16 years of work experience across sports retail management, freelance event coordination, and premium sales. He spent nearly a decade at Chakde Sports in India, rising to Assistant Store Manager, before moving to Belfast.
He holds a Master’s in International Event Management from Ulster University and a Bachelor of Commerce from Karim City College, Jamshedpur. His career has not followed a single track, but it has consistently stayed close to two things: sports and people.
Sagar Kinger with friends in the UK
From Bhopal to Belfast
Sagar grew up in Sehor, a small town near Bhopal, in a Punjabi family. He moved to Jamshedpur for his graduation, then to Bangalore for work, where he spent close to eight years at Chakde Sports. Over time, he took on responsibilities across procurement, inventory, staff supervision, and day-to-day retail operations, eventually rising to Assistant Store Manager.
After several years in the workforce, he decided to pursue a postgraduate degree abroad, a step that would take him far beyond his familiar environment.
He had not travelled outside India before, nor did he know anyone in Belfast. He arranged his student accommodation from India, arrived, and gradually settled into a new routine that included not just academics, but also sports, work, and charity engagements.
His first job at Sports Direct in Belfast began in December 2022, while he was still completing his degree, within the 20-hour weekly limit that student visas permit. Once the master’s was completed, he moved to an outlet of House of Fraser, in a full-time role, and later to Goldsmiths, where he spent over a year.
He worked across three employers and three different retail environments, while gradually building a life in a new city and earning the trust of his managers.
Building a network, step by step
Cricket became an entry point into social life abroad. Over three years, Sagar played for two Belfast clubs—Cliftonville Academy CC and the 1849-established Downpatrick Cricket Club. At Downpatrick, he got the opportunity to play alongside a professional player from South Africa who joined the club each season, exposing him to a completely different level of the game.
That circle gradually opened up practical support beyond the sport itself. When he needed to move out of student accommodation after his first year, people from this network helped him navigate local property options. Over time, he was also able to pass on that information to six others looking for housing and helped them secure accommodation. “I used my cricket circle to find housing, and it became easier for me to help other expats through the local connections I had built,” he says.
He also used his time in Belfast to earn a full UK driving licence, a process he describes as detailed and time-consuming. In parallel, he chose to stay engaged with community work. “I also volunteered at a Sikh temple and took part in charity activities through my employer.” These were among the ways he chose to use his time outside work constructively.
What the retail experience added up to
Moving from a sports retail background into luxury watches and fine jewellery at Goldsmiths was a shift in context. However, the fundamentals of client-facing work like understanding customer needs, building trust, and following through, remained consistent.
At times, customers would go out of their way to share positive feedback about their experience with him. “They even gave positive feedback about me to my manager, who was very happy with the way I handled clients,” he reminisces.
At Frasers Group, he worked toward store sales targets while managing stock, handling customer queries, and supporting daily operations. At Goldsmiths, his responsibilities included inventory management, order tracking, assisting with staff training, and maintaining quality standards.
Across roles, his approach remained consistent, with a focus on completing tasks properly and being dependable in day-to-day operations. “After my managers became confident in me, they would just hand over the work, knowing I would do it properly.”
What three and a half years abroad changed
Sagar believes his time in the UK changed both his perspective and his approach to everyday situations. Adjusting to a different culture, including accents, communication styles, and routines, took time.
“I adjusted myself according to the local culture and the way people communicate. My communication improved, and I made an effort to understand more and learn more about everything,” he says.
The shift, he adds, was also personal. Interacting with people from different countries such as Latvia, Ireland, mainland Britain, and South Africa across work, sport, and university settings made him more open in how he approaches situations and relationships.
“Before that, I was quite rigid in how I approached things and people. But during that journey, I became more open to situations and perspectives.”
Always a sports enthusiast
Before his UK experience, Sagar had also been involved in organising sports events independently. In Bangalore, he worked with organisations like Sports Spirit and Swing to plan badminton tournaments, small marathons, and inter-club competitions.
He estimates that he has been involved in over 50 such events, handling registrations, logistics, vendor coordination, budgeting, and post-event follow-ups. This experience added another dimension to his professional profile, combining his interest in sports with operational and organisational skills.
Back in Bangalore, looking ahead
Sagar is currently back in Bangalore, involved in his family’s sports business and continuing to organise local tournaments for housing societies and clubs. At the same time, he is exploring options to return to the UK through a skilled worker visa.
His technical toolkit includes Microsoft Office, CRM software, Power BI, stock management systems, POS platforms, and project management tools.
His professional path reflects steady experience across roles, a UK postgraduate qualification, and exposure to working in different environments in India and abroad. Having built a life in Belfast once, he is now looking at ways to take that experience forward and potentially return to it.
- Follow Sagar Kinger on LinkedIn