From Asian Shooting Championships to FIH Pro League and WTT Chennai, India’s non-cricket sports surge ahead with strong government support.
New Delhi: Cricket is really popular in India. Something interesting happened in February 2026. It showed that India has a lot of people in many different sports. There were some hockey matches and Indian players won a lot of medals in shooting. People also did well in table tennis and tennis even if they did not win.
These athletes, who are not cricket players were the stars. The government is now trying to help people play different sports, not just cricket. This is a change and it is exciting to see what will happen. India wants to be good, at sports, not just cricket.
Hockey: Gritty Tests in FIH Pro League
The India mens hockey team started the FIH Pro League 2025-26 with some games at home in Rourkela. They played against Belgium and Argentina which’re very strong teams. India mens hockey team lost to Belgium with a score of 1-3. They also lost to Argentina with a score of 0-8. These games were tough. The India mens hockey team learned a lot from them.
The India mens hockey team then went to Hobart in Australia. They played against Spain and the Australia team. These games were a test for the players on the India mens hockey team. The team also tried out players and tactics. The FIH Pro League 2025-26 is not about winning points. The India mens hockey team is also getting ready for the Asian Games in 2026. They are getting ready, for the quotas too.
Shooting: Dominant Medal Haul at Asian Championships
The Asian Shooting Championships were held in New Delhi and India did well. India got a total of 33 medals in the rifle and pistol events. India also got a lot of gold medals, seven or more in the categories.
One of the things that happened was Anish getting a bronze medal in the rapid-fire pistol event. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar did a job in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event. He won all the medals in this event.
Amanpreet Singh was also a star. He got a gold medal in the 25m centre fire pistol event on the day of the Asian Shooting Championships.
All of these medals show that India is ready for the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. The Asian Shooting Championships showed that India has a lot of shooters from the junior level to the top level the Asian Shooting Championships and this is a good thing, for India and the Asian Shooting Championships.
Table Tennis: Heartbreak and Pride at WTT Star Contender Chennai
The city of Chennai hosted the WTT Star Contender tournament from February 10 to 15. This event brought the ping-pong players to Tamil Nadu. Indias Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade did a job in the mixed doubles. They made it to the final.. They lost to Romanias Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs. The score was 3-0. Even though they did not win they still got a silver medal. That is something to be proud of.
There were some surprises in the tournament. A 38-year-old player from Czech Republic named Lubomir Jancarik won the mens singles gold medal. Japans Satsuki Odo won the womens singles title. The Indian players did a job in the doubles category. They won some matches and gave their opponents a hard time.
Hosting a tournament like WTT Star Contender is a good thing. It helps people know more, about the WTT Star Contender tournament. The WTT Star Contender tournament inspires players to work hard and improve their skills. The WTT Star Contender tournament also helps players to play better and get experience.
Tennis: Building Momentum in Challengers
Tennis just kept on going with events like the Chennai Open challenger that had Sumit Nagal in it and some other circuits. There were some exits for the top seeds but these tournaments are really good for the players because they help the players get better rankings and they stay sharp.
The thing is India is getting better at tennis because they are building courts and stuff and they have programs for young players so this means that India can have bigger team events and maybe some really big wins for tennis in the future, for Tennis.
Government Boost: Khelo India Mission Takes Flight
The Union Budget 2026-27 is really good for sports. It gives the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports a lot of money. ₹4,479.88 Crore. This is an increase.
The main thing is the Khelo India Mission. It is a plan that will change sports in India over the ten years. The Khelo India Mission will help find talent, train coaches, study sports science and make sports facilities better. The Khelo India Mission will also help make sports equipment in India. The government will give ₹500 crore for this.
The Khelo India Mission will fix problems create new jobs and make people like sports more. This is happening at the time. The Commonwealth Games 2026 will be in Glasgow and the Asian Games will be in Japan. The Union Budget 2026-27 and the Khelo India Mission will help India do well in these games. The Khelo India Mission is a deal for sports, in India.
In India where people love cricket February 2026 showed us that the future is going to be really interesting. We saw shooters doing a job paddlers competing against really strong teams and hockey players working very hard against the best teams. These stories make us feel proud of Indias sports people, not the cricket players.
The government is supporting them and things are getting better and better. Indias sports people who are not cricket players are getting ready to win a lot of medals. Be remembered for a long time in 2026 and, after that. We should pay attention because this is the start of something big.
