World Nomad Games: Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Indian contingent
India has won eight medals across five editions, including one gold and five bronze medals at the previous edition in Astana.
Indian contingent during the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games on Sunday. (Photo credit: BJP/x)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony of the sixth edition of World Nomad Games at Bishkek Arena in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Sunday.
India has sent an 87-member delegation including 73 athletes, 10 cultural participants and 4 scientific field representatives.
The World Nomad Games 2026 are scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 6 with 3000 athletes from 112 countries competing.
The games, founded in 2014, bring together participants from across the world to compete in traditional sports and showcase nomadic culture and heritage.
The opening ceremony took place on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, a regional diplomatic engagement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other regional leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the opening ceremony.
The games, also known as the Olympics of the nomadic world, are held once every two years and features events like Kok-boru (goat polo), horseback wrestling (Er Enish), traditional archery, falconry (Salburun), mas-wrestling and boardgames traditional to nomadic Central Asian cultures.
India has won eight medals across five editions, including one gold and five bronze medals in Kurash (Belt Wrestling) at the previous edition in Astana. India’s gold came in the women’s 57kg category, where Pinky Balhara defeated her Kazakh opponent.
Stay connected with The Bridge on #socials.