Sri Vijaya Puram, November 9: The Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, is inviting applications from interested and eligible boys and girls below 18 years of age (U-18) for consideration of Wild Card Entries to represent the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2026, scheduled to be held from December 11 to 22 in Telangana, in the following sports disciplines: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Judo, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Thang-Ta, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Yogasana.
As per the official communication received from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India, the selection of athletes for representing a State/UT shall be based on their performances in recognised International/National/State/District level competitions held during the years 2023, 2024 and 2025.
As per the prescribed procedure for KIYG 2026, out of the applications received by the Directorate, the best two boys and two girls will be placed before the Wild Card Evaluation Committee (WCEC), KIYG 2026. The names of the athletes recommended by the WCEC will thereafter be nominated for participation in the Games. Accordingly, the same will be duly communicated/published through print and electronic media for the information of all eligible athletes.
Eligibility criteria: The age eligibility for participation in KIYG 2026 is “athlete born on or after January 1, 2009” (U-18). For athlete age verification, any two of the following documents must be submitted: (a) Aadhaar Card or Passport; (b) Matriculation Certificate; (c) Birth Certificate (issued at least 5 years ago, i.e., on or before January 1, 2021, by Municipal Corporation/Gram Panchayat). To be eligible to represent a State, one of the following documents is required: (a) State Domicile; (b) Passport; (c) Place of Posting/Working/School Bona fide.
Interested and eligible athletes may submit their applications to the Assistant Supervisor (Sports) of the concerned Zone on or before November 10. The applications shall be duly filled in the prescribed format (Annexure-A), signed by the applicant, and enclosed with self-attested copies of their sports achievements in recognised International/National/State/UT/District-level tournaments/competitions during the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, along with self-attested copies of all relevant documents in support of candidature as per the prescribed eligibility criteria.
The prescribed application format (Annexure-A) and the list of detailed events are available on the Sports Department Portal: https://sports.andamannicobar.gov.in and the A&N-UT Portal: https://andamannicobar.gov.in.
