Eight Rising Stars Who Made Their Mark At Khelo India Tribal Games

The first-ever Khelo India Tribal Games in Chhattisgarh brought together sportspersons from the tribal community at different stages of their careers. For some, it was an exposure to what it feels like to compete in multi-discipline events, while for others it was another step in an already developing journey.

Thirty states and Union Territories took part in the inaugural 2026 edition of the Games that saw close to 1300 athletes compete in nine sports disciplines. A total of 106 gold medals were on offer across archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting and wrestling while traditional sports like mallakhamb and kabaddi were the demonstration sports.

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As India prepares to host the Commonwealth Games 2030 and positions itself as a candidate for the 2036 Summer Olympics, the Tribal Games offered athletes from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to showcase their potential and strengthen India’s bench strength across disciplines. The Games were held in three cities in Chhattisgarh – Raipur, Jagdalpur and Ambikapur.

Here is a sneak peek at a few athletes who have already been making an impact on the national and international stage, and some who showed the potential to excel in the near future.

Manikanta L (Swimmer)

The most decorated athlete of the Games, Manikanta L bagged eight gold medals and a silver in the swimming competition, laying the foundation for Karnataka to clinch the overall champions crown. The 21-year-old, who already has bagged medals at the Khelo India University Games in the past, has been preparing to make it to the Indian team for the upcoming Asian Games and opted to participate in multiple disciplines as part of his preparations.

The 200m breaststroke specialist managed to dominate most of his races and he feels that the performance in Chhattisgarh gives him the confidence to prepare with more focus for the Asian Games qualification.

Anjali Munda (Swimmer)

The 15-year-old from Odisha’s Jajpur district was one of the brightest stars to emerge from the swimming competition. Her rich haul of five gold medals – 200m freestyle, 200m IM, 100m backstroke, 50m backstroke and 4x100 medley – not only underlined her versatility with various strokes but also her ability to outrace her much older opponents.

The Kalinga Institute of Social Studies student was participating in her first Khelo India Games but hardly looked flustered despite the scale of the event and has the potential to shine on the international stage.

Komalika Bari (Archer)

Only the second Indian after Deepika Kumari to be crowned World Cadet and World Youth Champion, Bari is also one of the frontrunners to make it to the Indian team for the 2026 Asian Games. She has been preparing for the selection trials in Pune and given the competition level at the Khelo India Tribal Games, felt that participating there would provide her valuable match practice.

And she was not wrong. Though she will go home with an individual gold and mixed team gold in recurve, the archer from Jharkhand was made to work hard in each match and in the women’s team they had to be satisfied with a silver medal after they went down against Nagaland in the final.

Kiran Pisda (Football)

The Chhattisgarh women’s football team captain led from the front and even in the penalty box, donning the goalkeeper’s gloves in the semi-finals during the shootout, to help her team win the gold medal. Kiran was not just the highest scorer for her team but also led the young squad with aplomb and showed how good leadership can transform an outfit.

Kiran has already represented India in SAFF competitions and has also played in the Croatian League. The 24-year-old now hopes to become a regular in the Indian national squad as she is versatile enough to play in any position.

Babulal Hembrom (Weightlifter)

The 19-year-old from Jharkhand had become the first weightlifter from his state to win a Khelo India Youth Games gold in 2024 and is the first international weightlifter for the state to win a medal in the IWF World Youth Championships and Asian Youth Championships.

The lifter from Keribanda village in Ramgarh district is now making a transition from junior to senior circuit and is training in the National Camp in SAI Patiala. The silver medal in the Khelo India Tribal Games has given him the confidence that he can challenge the seniors now.

Shiv Kumar Soren (Sprinter)

The Jharkhand dasher clinched the gold medal in both, the 100m and 200m with relative ease. He clocked a 100m time of 10.58s while he stopped the clock at 21.51s in the 200m race. The trainee of Centre of Excellence in Bokaro has a muscular built and has the potential to go a lot faster.

Jhilli Dalabehera (Weightlifter)

One of the most decorated lifters from Odisha, Jhilli won the gold medal in the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in 45kg category and silver medal in the 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in 49kg category. The Indian Railways employee participated in the 53kg category in the Tribal Games and took home the gold medal.

Bhargavi Bhagora (Archer)

The 21-year-old from Gujarat lost the recurve individual final against Komalika Bari in Raipur but the way she pushed her more experienced opponent till the end would give her a lot of confidence ahead of the selection trials for the Indian team for the Asian Games in Japan.

Hailing from the Aravalli district in Gujarat, Bhargavi has also won three medals at the Khelo India University Games in various editions and currently trains at the Nadiad High Performance centre supported by Sports Authority of India.