December 2026 Khelo India Youth Games Schedule Announced

Delhi, 9 November – The Sports Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, released the official timetable for the Khelo India Youth Games 2026 on Monday. The twelve‑day sports carnival will be held in Telangana from 11 to 22 December and will showcase 27 competitive sports along with one demonstration discipline. Mandaviya expressed his enthusiasm for the new schedule, describing it as a continuation of the Khelo India initiative that has historically offered a stage for promising athletes to shine and move toward higher performance levels. He highlighted that the games follow the Asian Games in Hangzhou‑Nagasaki, promising quality performances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive to expand India’s sporting ecosystem for broader Olympic participation and to harness natural resources such as seas and mountains for sport development was also cited. Sailing will be featured as a demonstration sport, aligning with the government’s focus on water‑based activities. This will be the first time Telangana hosts the Khelo India Youth Games, with expectations of around 6,000 participants and 1,800 support staff. Softball will debut as a competitive sport, while sailing joins the roster as a demonstration event. The competition will cover a diverse set of sports: archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, fencing, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho‑kho, rowing, shooting, swimming, softball, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and yoga, among others. Venues include Hyderabad’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium complex in Basheerbagh and the Modern Gachibowli Sports Complex for 22 medal events, while other sports will be staged in Khammam, Hanumankonda, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Mahbubnagar. The preceding edition took place in Bihar from 3‑15 May 2025, where Maharashtra topped the medal tally with 58 gold, 47 silver and 53 bronze medals, followed by Haryana and Rajasthan. Bihar’s edition saw 26 records broken, including five national youth weightlifting records set by female athletes.