Raipur, March 20 -- As National Tribal Games is round the corner, Chhattisgarh is all set to welcome around 3700 participants from across India from March 25th to April 3rd. Attributing to legacy of archery sports in Tribal community and giving credit to success of Bastar Olympics and gaming events, Chhattisgarh earned the opportunity to host the national event for first time - reflecting Chhattisgarh's progress toward peace and development. "Hosting the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 is a proud moment for Chhattisgarh. Youth are the future of our nation and state, and the government is fully committed to empowering them through education, employment, skill development, and sports. This event will not only showcase the incredible talent of our tribal athletes but also launch them onto the national stage," said Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai.
Owing to success of previous events and rise in registration numbers of Bastar Olympics of year 2024 and 2025 along with Tribal dominated Surguja Olympics - which witnessed surging registration of 1.65 lakh, 3.91 lakh and more than 3.49 lakh respectively - reflects the community's strong enthusiasm for sports and games. The remarkable strength and endurance of the tribal population have inspired athletes to participate across a wide range of disciplines, including archery, football, wrestling, Mallakhamb, and athletics. Exemplifying the endurance and discipline of indigenous population, Sports and Youth Welfare Department's Senior Football Coach Sarita Kujur Toppo said, "I am coaching from past 24 years and owing to cultural values of Bastar and Tribal communities the Tribal players are disciplined and sincere to such an extent that they stop viewing mobile phones when instructed so. Their physical recovery and endurance is better than players of urban areas." Foods now popularized as superfoods-such as millets, drumsticks, and green leafy vegetables-have long been a staple in tribal diets, contributing to their natural stamina and high energy levels on the field. In KITG several Tribal players, who represented at international and national level will participate in the event. The renowned Kiran Bista , a 23 year old football player, who has played Asian Football Championship in 2025 will perform with Kondagaon based 16 years old football players Rashi Poyam, Madwai Pooja and Shraddha Pradhani, who are excited to be part of the event and aspires to take up sports as profession.
The advance sports facilities in Chhattisgarh have given boost to morale of Tribal players. The government run residential and day boarding training academies are providing coaching with advance equipment and provide nutritious diets designed by dieticians. Here the Tribal students are facilitated to enrol for coaching for three years in the sports academy along with continuing their school education. The archery academy in Raipur owes nearly 12 sets of 'recurve and compound' bow and arrow sets, which are used in Olympics and each costs nearly Rs 4 lakh, said Coach Durgesh Nandini. Chhattisgarh boasts robust sports infrastructure including world-class synthetic hockey turfs worth Rs 4.99 crore is developed in Jashpur, synthetic athletic track at Mahasamund worth Rs 6.60 crore an synthetic turf football ground with running track worth Rs 5 crore has been developed in Jagdalpur in past two years. As per officials of Sports And Youth Welfare Department, the state of Chhattisgarh ranks first in terms of prize money given to sportspersons by the state government. For the purpose of promoting sports activities in the state, the department provides grants to various state sports associations, district sports associations and non-government sports organizations operating in the state. Chhattisgarh will host the National Tribal Games from March 25 to April 3 across Raipur, Jagdalpur, and Ambikapur. Competitions in seven sports will be organised during this period, along with two demonstration sports-Kabaddi and Mallakhamb. Raipur will host events in hockey, football, swimming, weightlifting, and archery. Athletics competitions will be held in Jagdalpur, while wrestling events will take place in Ambikapur. As part of the demonstration events, Kabaddi will be showcased in Raipur and Mallakhamb in Ambikapur. Being organized for the first time in the country under the Khelo India initiative, the National Tribal Games will see the participation of around 3700 participants including players, coaches, and officials from entire country, said officials of Sport and Youth Welfare Department.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.