Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya today called on National Sports Federations (NSFs) to take greater responsibility for India’s sporting performance, following the nation’s 4th place finish at the 2026 Asian Games. Interacting with NSF heads at the National Sports Federations (NSF) Conclave 2026 in New Delhi, the Minister reiterated the need to work with further synergy to sustain India’s sporting excellence. Dr. Mandaviya underlined the need to identify and develop athletes who can sustain India’s medal-winning ambitions across sporting cycles. He also emphasised the need for more sports psychologists, sports science experts and high-performance mental trainers, to mitigate the loss of focus that athletes go through when competing on major international stages. He also urged every NSF to introduce more competitions, strengthen athlete preparation, work with dedicated commitment, as well as carry out honest assessment of gaps in performance and administration.
Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse has called for all federations to align their work with the vision of the Khelo India Mission. Ms Khadse stressed that NSFs must ensure that state and district-level federations are functioning effectively, alongside their responsibility for identifying talent.
The Ministry said that the conclave served as a review of India’s Asian Games 2026 performance and a platform to assess preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and the 2030 Asian Games in Doha.
