Khelo India Youth Games: History, Winners & Editions

What Are the Khelo India Youth Games?

The Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) are India’s premier national multi-sport competition for young athletes, designed to identify, nurture, and develop sporting talent at the grassroots level. Launched in 2018, the Games have steadily grown into one of the most important platforms connecting school- and college-level sport with India’s high-performance ecosystem.

KIYG is an annual, multi-discipline sporting event conducted under the Government of India’s Khelo India Programme. Its primary objective is to promote sports participation among young athletes while creating a structured system for talent identification and long-term athlete development.

Athletes, primarily competing in under-17 and under-21 age categories, represent their states and Union Territories. They compete across a wide spectrum of Olympic, non-Olympic, and traditional Indian sports, making KIYG one of the most diverse sporting events in the country. The Games are a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), the Sports Authority of India (SAI), host state governments, and National Sports Federations.

Key Features & Impact of the Khelo India Youth Games

Beyond just a medal-driven tournament, KIYG functions as a structured pipeline that feeds talent into national camps, academies, and elite training centers. With each edition hosted by a different state, the Games have significantly contributed to spreading sports culture and infrastructure across India.

Key features and impacts include:

Talent Identification: Young, promising athletes are identified early.
Scholarship Opportunities: Standout performers become eligible for Khelo India scholarships, access to structured coaching, and long-term training support.
State-Level Development: Hosting encourages investments in sports infrastructure, academies, and qualified coaches.
Diverse Sports: Features a broad mix of Olympic, non-Olympic, and traditional Indian sports, promoting sporting diversity.
Gender Equity: Strong participation from women athletes across disciplines supports gender equity in Indian sports.
Pathway to Excellence: KIYG serves as a reliable pathway to national camps and high-performance systems for aspiring Indian athletes.

Medals won by athletes contribute to their state or UT’s overall tally, fostering collective performance and healthy inter-state rivalry.

History of the Khelo India Youth Games

The Khelo India Programme was launched with the objective of reviving India’s sporting culture through mass participation, competitive exposure, funding support, and improved sports infrastructure. Within this broader framework, the Khelo India Youth Games were conceptualized as the program’s premier national competition for young athletes.

2018: Khelo India School Games (Delhi): The initiative began in 2018 as the "Khelo India School Games," held in New Delhi. It focused on under-17 school athletes, laying the foundation for a nationwide youth sports platform.
2019: Rebranded as Khelo India Youth Games (Pune): In 2019, the event was rebranded as the Khelo India Youth Games and hosted in Pune, Maharashtra. This marked a significant expansion with the formal inclusion of under-21 athletes.
2020 Onwards: Rotational Hosting & Growth: From 2020 onwards, the Games adopted a rotational hosting model, with different states hosting each edition. Participation levels, the number of sports disciplines, and the overall scale of the event have continued to grow steadily.

Today, the Khelo India Youth Games form a central pillar of India’s youth sports structure and complement other competitions under the Khelo India ecosystem, supporting athlete development across multiple age groups and sporting categories.

Khelo India Youth Games: Editions, Hosts, & Winners

The table below lists all officially conducted editions of the Khelo India Youth Games, including the inaugural school-level edition. Note that some editions were scheduled for one year but held the next due to external circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic.

| Edition | Year (Scheduled) | Year (Held) | Host City/State | Top Performer (State) | | ------- | ---------------- | ----------- | ---------------------- | --------------------- | | 1st | 2018 | 2018 | New Delhi, Delhi | Haryana | | 2nd | 2019 | 2019 | Pune, Maharashtra | Maharashtra | | 3rd | 2020 | 2020 | Guwahati, Assam | Maharashtra | | 4th | 2021 | 2022 | Panchkula, Haryana | Haryana | | 5th | 2022 | 2023 | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | | 6th | 2023 | 2024 | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Maharashtra |

From this record, Maharashtra has emerged as the most successful contingent in the history of the Khelo India Youth Games. Haryana has also been a consistently strong performer, particularly in disciplines such as wrestling, boxing, and weightlifting, often engaging in a strong inter-state rivalry with Maharashtra.

The Future of the Khelo India Youth Games

The Khelo India Youth Games play a crucial role in strengthening India’s long-term sports pipeline by creating a structured bridge between grassroots participation and elite performance. The ongoing expansion of the broader Khelo India calendar, including events like the Khelo India Winter Games, Beach Games, and newly introduced Tribal Games, reflects the government’s intent to widen the talent pool and offer competitive platforms across different regions and sporting environments.

8th Edition (2025): The 8th edition of the Khelo India Youth Games is expected to take place in 2025. Details regarding the host state and exact dates are typically announced closer to the event.
Strengthening the Ecosystem: Initiatives under the broader Khelo India Programme continue to reinforce youth-level competitions. This includes upgrading training infrastructure and improving access to coaching and competition across the country, further empowering the next generation of Indian athletes.

Since their launch in 2018, the Khelo India Youth Games have transformed the way young sporting talent is identified and developed in India. What began as a school-level competition has evolved into a comprehensive national platform that connects grassroots participation with high-performance pathways.

With consistent performances from leading states, rotational hosting across regions, and growing integration into India’s sports development framework, KIYG has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of the country’s youth sports ecosystem. As India continues to invest in structured talent development through initiatives like the Khelo India Programme, the Youth Games are set to play an even more influential role in shaping the next generation of national and international athletes.