Mallakhamb in Lakshadweep

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Mallakhamba, 2021 Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India Beach Games, Olympics.com — What is mallakhamb, Khelo India Beach Games coverage, Outlook India — Khelo India Beach Games 2026 Mallakhamb feature, Sohail Hussain Sheikh profile, DrishtiIAS — Abujhmad World Mallakhamb Championship, Madhya Pradesh Khelo India coverage, Mallakhamb Federation of India (mallakhambfederationofindia.in). These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Ancient India
Category: Gymnastics
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: Mallakhamb Federation of India
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: On the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Mallakhamb"Source: Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — Discipline wise Participation in all editions of Khelo India Games (19th Edition) (2026-08-29)
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Mallakhamb is listed on SportSupport in the gymnastics category. Its recorded origin is Ancient India. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list Mallakhamb Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Mallakhamb has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through Mallakhamb Federation of India may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme. Mallakhamb appears on the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Mallakhamb", so junior talent identified by the discipline's selectors can be considered under Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID). (Source: Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — Discipline wise Participation in all editions of Khelo India Games (19th Edition).)

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for mallakhamb athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to mallakhamb.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given mallakhamb event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which mallakhamb events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for mallakhamb yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Mallakhamb is contested in three main forms — Pole (a fixed, tapering wooden pole, traditionally sheesham, polished with castor oil), Hanging (a shorter pole suspended by a chain or hook) and Rope (a cotton rope gripped and knotted with the feet). Gymnasts perform a sequence of grips, climbs, holds, balances and dismounts against the clock, with judges scoring difficulty, execution, poses held steadily, rhythm and landing. Routines are performed for men, women, boys and girls in individual, team and all-around categories; falls, slips, extra grips and broken poses draw deductions. Athletes compete barefoot with no safety harness, so a controlled dismount is part of the score.

Authoritative rulebook: Mallakhamb Federation of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across gymnastics sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced mallakhamb squad list.

All-around
Sum of scores across every apparatus for the discipline.
Apparatus finals
Top qualifiers contest the medal on each individual apparatus.
Team
Total team score used at Olympics, Worlds and Asian Games.
Rhythmic & trampoline
Distinct FIG-recognised disciplines with their own apparatus and scoring.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in mallakhamb at a federation-recognised event.

Pole mallakhamb — fixed tapering wooden pole (traditionally sheesham/teak) set in the ground
Hanging mallakhamb — shorter pole suspended on a chain or hook
Rope mallakhamb — thick cotton rope suspended from a frame
Castor oil for polishing the pole
Mats around the base for landings
Fitted shorts/leotard; performed barefoot without harness

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Mallakhamb Federation of India

Mallakhamb Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Mallakhamb, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement of current recognition — recognition is granted year by year.

Origin: Ancient India
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Gymnastics

All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in mallakhamb.

National Mallakhamb Championships
Organized by the Mallakhamb Federation of India (MFI, founding traced to around 1980, formally registered 1984), now with 29 affiliated states, across Pole and Rope disciplines for men, women, boys and girls. Mallakhamb was included in the Khelo India Youth Games from 2021, the 36th National Games (2022), and Khelo India University Games, and appeared as a demonstration sport at the Khelo India Beach Games (2025, Diu) and the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games (2026, Chhattisgarh).

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in mallakhamb.

World Mallakhamb Championship
The first edition was held in Mumbai in 2019, drawing over 150 athletes from more than 15 countries including the USA, Japan, South Africa, Brazil and Bahrain. Three young athletes from Abujhmad — a remote, historically Naxal-conflict-affected tribal area of Chhattisgarh — won gold at the 2nd edition.
1936 Berlin Olympics
Mallakhamb was demonstrated (not contested for medals) by Indian gymnasts.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for mallakhamb. The national championship under Mallakhamb Federation of India remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised mallakhamb athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for mallakhamb maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in mallakhamb — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Mallakhamb has genuinely ancient roots, practiced since at least the 2nd century BCE as a training discipline for wrestlers — modern pole dancing traces its origins back to it
Madhya Pradesh became the first Indian state to declare mallakhamb an official state sport in 2013, and over 20 states followed by 2017
The Khelo India programme has approved 100 dedicated Mallakhamb training centres
The sport has become a genuine social-mobility story in several communities: in Chhattisgarh's tribal Abujhmad region and in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, children from daily-wage-labourer families with no prior exposure to organised sport have gone on to compete at Khelo India and world championship level
Yogesh Malviya became India's first Dronacharya Award-winning mallakhamb coach; playing and coaching pathway through MFI's state-affiliated akhadas and Khelo India centres

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No mallakhamb academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

All academies →List your academy →

Government Schemes

4 listed

Central and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for mallakhamb athletes and academies.

All government schemes →

FAQs

Common questions about mallakhamb in India.

Who governs Mallakhamb in India?▾

We list Mallakhamb Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Mallakhamb, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Mallakhamb an Olympic sport?▾

No, Mallakhamb is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Mallakhamb in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Mallakhamb Federation of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Mallakhamb athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Mallakhamb is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Mallakhamb appears on the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Mallakhamb", so athletes identified by the discipline's selectors can be considered under Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID). Appearing on the list is not itself a grant of funding.

Mallakhamb in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Mallakhamb in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.