India News: The first BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Demonstration Games took place on Monday, 12 October 2026, at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad. About 160 athletes from ten BRICS member and partner countries showed their national traditional sports to a crowd of roughly 3,000 people.
Key facts
- Event: BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Demonstration Games, a one-day showcase rather than a medal competition.
- Venue: Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- Countries: Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Africa and the UAE.
- Delegations: India 50 athletes, China 30, Iran 22, South Africa 14.
- Context: India holds the BRICS chairship in 2026.
Who brought what to Ahmedabad?
The programme read like a map of the bloc’s sporting heritage. India fielded mallakhamb, the pole gymnastics discipline, along with yogasana and the Kerala martial art kalaripayattu. China came with lion dance, wushu and Health Qigong.
Iran presented Zoorkhaneh, the centuries-old training ritual performed to drums and chants, plus Haft Sang and Ghanieh. Brazil sent Brazilian jiu-jitsu and capoeira. Russia showed sambo and gorodki, a skittles-style throwing game that Belarus also brought.
The smaller delegations stood out too:
- Kazakhstan: Asyk Atu, the strategy board game Togyzkumalak and the wrestling style Qazaq Kuresi.
- Bolivia: Lucha de Cholitas and Tinku.
- South Africa: the stick-fighting disciplines Kgati and Iintonga.
- UAE: Altabbah.
What the delegations said
The mood was more festival than tournament. South Africa’s chef-de-mission, Philasande Macwili, told SAI Media that yoga is already part of daily life back home. “We embrace it, and we love it,” he said, pointing to stress relief and flexibility.
China’s chef-de-mission, Yi Liu, spoke about the welcome. Athletes were greeted at the airport by a dance group. “They all said they have never felt more warmly received than they have here in India,” Liu said.
Russia’s head of delegation, Zlata Yakovleva, described the hosts’ hospitality as “awesome” and framed the day as a gesture of friendship inside the group. Sport diplomacy rarely gets simpler than that.
The exchange also continued off the mat. A Chinese wushu athlete ran a session for Indian wushu players at the SAI National Centre of Excellence in Narayanpura.
Why does Ahmedabad matter?
Ahmedabad is building a profile as a sports city. It will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. In June 2026 it staged the first world yogasana championships, with 522 athletes from 79 nations. India won 114 medals there, 102 of them gold. Thirty-one countries took at least one medal.
That background explains why yogasana drew the strongest reaction on Monday. Visiting delegations saw children at practice sessions copying the movements, a small detail that says a lot about how deeply the discipline is rooted locally.
What comes next for BRICS sport?
Traditional games are cheap to stage and easy to share. They need no stadium the size of an Olympic venue, and they carry cultural meaning that elite sport often loses. For a bloc that now spans South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, that is a practical advantage.
The organisers have not announced whether the demonstration format will become a regular fixture of future BRICS Games. The multi-sport BRICS Games already rotate between hosts (Kazan staged the 2024 edition), so adding a traditional-sports day to that rotation would be a natural next step. If it happens, expect partner countries such as Kazakhstan and Bolivia to push for bigger slots. On Monday, their board games and wrestling styles were among the least familiar to the crowd, and among the most photographed.
FAQ
What are the BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Demonstration Games?
A one-day showcase held in Ahmedabad on 12 October 2026, where ten BRICS member and partner countries demonstrated their national traditional sports.
Which Indian sports were shown?
Mallakhamb, yogasana and kalaripayattu.
Were medals awarded?
No. It was a demonstration event focused on cultural exchange.
Sources: The Tribune / ANI; UNI.
