Sports in India: Major Events and Institutions

Indian sport has one main body, one big talent programme, and now a new policy and law. Let us take them one by one.

What does SAI do?

• The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the central sports body.
• It was set up in 1984 to carry forward the legacy of the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi (Sports Authority of India).
• It organises India’s major sporting events.
• It also runs the Khelo India programme.

Think of SAI as the main engine behind Indian sport.

What is Khelo India?

• Khelo India is a grassroots sports programme.
• It finds and trains young talent across the country.
• It holds Youth, Winter and Tribal Games.

So Khelo India builds sport from the bottom up. SAI builds it from the top.

What changed in 2025?

• The Union Cabinet approved the National Sports Policy 2025 on 1 July 2025 (The Tribune).
• It is also called Khelo Bharat Niti 2025. It replaces the old policy of 2001 (The Tribune).
• Parliament also passed the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.
• It received the President’s assent on 18 August 2025 (The Tribune).

A policy is a plan. An Act is a law. Exams like to test that difference.

India gives its sports awards each year at the National Sports Awards. Each award has its own job.

Which award is for whom?

• The Khel Ratna is India’s highest sporting honour.
• It was renamed after hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on 6 August 2021. Before that, it was named after Rajiv Gandhi (Deccan Herald).
• The Arjuna Award began in 1961 (National Sports Awards).
• The Dronacharya Award began in 1985. It honours coaches, not players (Dronacharya Award).
• National Sports Day falls on 29 August. It is Major Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary (Akashvani).

Who won recently?

• On 17 January 2025, four athletes got the Khel Ratna.
• They were Manu Bhaker, D. Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh and Praveen Kumar.

India hosts and takes part in many multi-sport Games. Each one hosted well builds trust for the next bid.

Asian Games and Commonwealth Games

• New Delhi hosted the first Asian Games, from 4 to 11 March 1951 (1951 Asian Games).
• New Delhi hosted the Asian Games again in 1982 (Olympic Council of Asia).
• New Delhi hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
• Ahmedabad will host the 2030 edition. It will mark a century of the Commonwealth Games.

So 2030 will be India’s second Commonwealth Games, not its first.

Khelo India’s own Games

• India held its first national multi-sport event for tribal athletes in 2026.
• These Khelo India Tribal Games ran from 25 March to 3 April 2026, in Chhattisgarh.
• The Khelo India Winter Games 2026 had two chapters.
• Ice sports were held at Leh from 20 January. Snow sports were held at Gulmarg later that season.

India hopes to host the 2036 Olympics. Ahmedabad is pursuing the bid. An IOC decision is not expected before late 2027.

The step-by-step plan

• India plans to host smaller Games first.
• The 2030 Commonwealth Games come before the Olympics bid.
• Good hosting builds trust and experience. That raises India’s chances.

India’s recent Olympic record

• At Rio 2016, India won two medals. P. V. Sindhu won silver in badminton. Sakshi Malik won bronze in wrestling (India at Rio 2016).
• At Paris 2024, India won six medals: one silver and five bronze (Akashvani).

Ahmedabad gets the 2030 Games

• On 26 November 2025, Ahmedabad was confirmed as host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
• The vote took place at the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow. All 74 member nations and territories ratified it (Paralympic.org).
• They are called the “Centenary Games”.

Asian Games 2026 (October 2026)

• India won 85 medals at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan: 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze (The Hindu).
• That is down from 106 medals at the previous edition in Hangzhou.
• Both hockey teams won gold. This gives them direct places at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• The men beat Malaysia 5-1 in the final.
• The women beat China 1-0. It was their first Asian Games gold since 1982 (Indian Express).
• Kumkum Mohod became the first Indian woman to win individual recurve archery gold.
• Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win individual golf gold.

No Khel Ratna this year

• The National Sports Awards 2025 were announced on 18 August 2026.
• No athlete was named for the Khel Ratna. Seventeen sportspersons were picked for the Arjuna Award (The Bridge).
• It was only the third time with no Khel Ratna, after 2008 and 2014 (ETV Bharat).

India rules the chessboard

• In December 2024, D. Gukesh became the youngest undisputed world chess champion, at 18.
• He beat China’s Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in Singapore (Akashvani).
• At the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest in 2024, India won gold in both the open and women’s sections (ChessBase).