Khelo India Youth Games 2026 schedule announced, Atika Mir's brilliant FIA debut

Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday announced the complete schedule for the Khelo India Youth Games 2026. This prestigious sporting festival will be organized by the state of Telangana from 11 to 22 December. Approximately 6,000 players and 1,800 support staff members are expected to participate in this 12-day event. This is the first Khelo India event organized by the state of Telangana, which will prove to be a milestone for the state in the field of sports.

Expressing enthusiasm regarding this, Sports Minister Dr. Mandaviya said, "I am very happy to announce the schedule of the Khelo India Youth Games. As these games are being held immediately after the Asian Games held at Aichi-Nagoya, we can expect very high-level performance from the players. 27 competitive sports and one demonstration sport have been included in these games. Specifically, softball is entering as a competitive sport this year, while sailing has been included as a demonstration sport for the first time."

For the organization of these games, 22 sports will be held at various venues, including the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium Complex and Gachibowli Sports Complex in Hyderabad. The remaining sports will be held in other cities of the state, including archery in Khammam, athletics in Hanumankonda, judo in Karimnagar, table tennis in Nizamabad, and kabaddi in Mahbubnagar. In the previous edition held in Bihar, Maharashtra was the table topper with 58 gold medals and won the title for the fifth time, followed by Haryana and Rajasthan.

On the other hand, Indian racing prodigy Atika Mir has made a brilliant debut in the FIA Karting World Championship. 11-year-old Atika is the first Indian supported by the Formula 1 Academy. Racing for Kart Republic in the 12-14 years category, Atika, despite difficulties in qualifying, jumped 16 places in Race 1 to secure sixth place. Due to two crashed drivers during qualifying, her hot lap was blocked, leaving her at 83rd out of 87. However, without losing courage, she improved her position by 16 in Race 1, 10 in Race 2, and 4 in Race 3. In the super heat, she also started from 14th place and finished 16th.

Talking about her experience, Atika said, "It was very fun and I got great practice for overtaking. The qualifying failure was not in my control, so I focused on what was in my hands. I feel I am worthy of this level and if qualifying had been good, I could have fought for the top." She also thanked her sponsors Rise and JK Tyre. Her father and India's first national karting champion, Asif Mir, said, "Atika was strong to secure a top five position, but qualifying ruined everything. However, I am amazed to see how she made a comeback. She is a brave girl competing with older boys."

Khelo India Youth Games is a national-level sports competition started by the Government of India, whose main objective is to find and encourage talented players from the grassroots level. Under this program, young players are provided with international-level facilities and training so that they can bring glory to the country in the future.