The Khelo India Youth Games 2026 will be held from December 11 to 22, with Telangana hosting the multisport showpiece for the first time.
KIYG 2026 will mark the eighth edition of the flagship event under the Government of India’s Khelo India initiative, which promotes sports at the grassroots level in the country.
Close to 6000 athletes and 1800 support staff are expected to be involved in the upcoming edition, which runs over 12 days.
All 36 States and Union Territories across India and institutional teams compete in the KIYG. The team with the most number of gold medals at the end of the event is declared that year’s Khelo India Youth Games champion.
A total of 27 competitive sports will be contested at KIYG 2026. Softball will make its KIYG debut as a medal sport, while sailing has been added to the programme for the first time, but as a demonstration event.
Various venues in Hyderabad, including the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium complex in Basheerbagh and the modern Gachibowli sports complex, will stage 22 medal sports while the remainder will be hosted by Khammam (archery), Hanumankonda (athletics), Karimnagar (judo), Nizamabad (table tennis) and Mahbubnagar (kabaddi).
Khelo India Youth Games 2026 sports list
Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, fencing, football, gatka, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kalarippayattu, kho kho, mallakhamb, rowing, shooting, swimming, softball, table tennis, tennis, thang ta, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, yogasana and sailing (demonstration sport)
The previous edition of the Khelo India Youth Games was held in Bihar in May last year. Maharashtra defended their title by topping the medal tally with 58 gold, 47 silver and 53 bronze, sealing a fifth KIYG crown and a third in a row.
Haryana, two-time champions, finished second with 39 gold, 27 silver and 51 bronze, with Rajasthan claiming the third spot with 24 gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze.
Maharashtra and Haryana remain the only two teams to have won a Khelo India Youth Games title since its inception in 2018.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/khelo-india-youth-games-2026-kiyg-dates-venue
