Isha Gramotsav 2026: 80 thousand players from 40 thousand villages will show their strength, rural women will get a big platform.

Knews Desk- Isha Gramotsav 2026, one of the biggest rural sports events in the country, is going to be organized on an even bigger scale this time. This sports festival, popular in the villages of South India, is now reaching many states of North India for the first time. This time rural players from 10 states and one union territory including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra will participate in it.

Around 7,000 teams will participate in the 18th edition of the event. Through this, more than 80,000 players from about 40,000 villages will enter the field. About 15,000 women players will also be included in these. The objective of this event is to bring out sports talent in rural areas and especially to give women an opportunity to progress in the field of sports.

This time, apart from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, players from Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry will participate in Isha Gramotsav. Volleyball for men and throwball for women will be the main sports in the competition. zAttractive prizes will also be given to the players in the tournament. In the grand finale, the winning volleyball and throwball teams will receive prize money of Rs 5 lakh each. The runner-up teams will be given Rs 3 lakh each, while the third and fourth placed teams will be given Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50 thousand respectively. Apart from this, cash prizes have also been given at cluster and divisional level. Prize money worth more than Rs 1 crore will be distributed throughout the event.

Isha Gramotsav will be organized in three phases. The first phase will consist of cluster level competitions, followed by divisional phase and finally the grand finale. The cluster competitions will begin from July, while the final competition will be held on September 6 at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore. Sadhguru will also be present during this time. Cluster level competitions in Uttar Pradesh will be held on July 25 and 26 in Lucknow, Varanasi, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. After this, divisional stage matches will be held in Gautam Buddha Nagar on 1st and 2nd August. Whereas in Haryana, the matches will be held in Panipat, Karnal and Ambala on July 25-26, while the further stages will be held in Hisar, Kurukshetra and Karnal.

Isha Gramotsav has, over the years, given an opportunity to rural women to make their mark in the field of sports. Many women came out of the house for the first time and participated in sports competitions through this platform. Throwball player Nandini Duraisamy says that earlier the opportunities for rural women to participate in sports were very limited, but Gramotsav gave them an opportunity to showcase their talent and boost their confidence. Many female players have continued the game despite family and social challenges. Housewife-turned-player Rajeshwari says that she achieved this position with regular practice and support from her family. According to him, there were many difficulties in the beginning, but with hard work and dedication he made his mark.

In the last two decades, Isha Gramotsav has evolved from a small regional event to a major rural sports movement. Till now, more than 2.6 lakh rural players from more than 35 thousand villages have joined this initiative. Along with sports, this festival also gives a platform to the culture of rural India. It showcases folk art, music, dance, traditional sports and regional cuisine. Traditional games like Kho-Kho, Kabaddi and Gilli-Danda along with display of folk traditions are also a part of the event. Isha Gramotsav 2026 can prove to be an important initiative towards presenting the sports talents and cultural heritage of rural India on a big platform.