Snowboarding in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Outlook India, The Tribune, myKhel — Khelo India Winter Games 2026 Gulmarg coverage, News on Air — KIWG 2025 Gulmarg results and postponement, Olympics.com — KIWG 2025 Gulmarg leg postponed and rescheduled, The Hawk/IANS — KIWG 2026 new generation feature, Ski Snowboard India (ski-india.com), Khelo India Winter Games official site (winter.kheloindia.gov.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: 1960s USA
Category: Winter
Olympic discipline: Yes
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Olympic (TOPS eligible)
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: Winter Games Federation of India
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects
Olympic status: On the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Snowboarding is listed on SportSupport in the winter category. Its recorded origin is 1960s USA. It is on the Olympic programme. We list Winter Games Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Snowboarding is on the pathway that runs through India's national sports federations to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with selection running through Winter Games Federation of India against its published benchmarks. Being on this pathway is not itself a statement that the discipline is currently in TOPS — TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group chosen by the Mission Olympic Cell.

Scholarships & Funding

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

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), 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.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether snowboarding is among the covered disciplines.
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 snowboarding.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

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Indian Players

No profiles yet

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

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Rules

Competitive snowboarding splits into timed alpine racing and judged freestyle. In slalom and giant slalom, riders descend a gated course on a hard-booted alpine board and the fastest time wins; missing or straddling a gate means disqualification, and titles are usually decided on combined times over two runs. Snowboard cross sends four to six riders down a course of jumps, rollers and banked turns together, with the first across the line advancing. Freestyle events (halfpipe, slopestyle, big air) are scored by judges on difficulty, execution, amplitude and landing. All disciplines follow International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) rules, which also set slope homologation standards for sanctioned events.

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

Positions

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

Alpine / cross-country / snowboard
Timed and judged snow disciplines under FIS rules.
Skating & ice hockey
Speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey under ISU / IIHF.
Sliding sports
Bobsleigh, luge and skeleton contested on ice tracks.

Equipment

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

Snowboard matched to discipline (stiff alpine board for slalom/GS, softer twin-tip for freestyle)
Bindings and boots (hard-shell plate bindings for racing, soft boots for freestyle)
FIS-approved helmet, plus back protector and impact shorts
Goggles, gloves, and race suit or freestyle outerwear
Wax and edge-tuning kit

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Winter Games Federation of India

Winter Games Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Snowboarding, 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: 1960s USA
Olympic: Yes
Paralympic: No
Category: Winter

All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in snowboarding.

Khelo India Winter Games — Gulmarg leg
Snowboarding is one of four medal disciplines at the Gulmarg snow-sports leg (alongside Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing and Ski Mountaineering), held at Kangdoori Phase 1 and the Golf Course Club. The 6th edition ran 23-26 February 2026 with around 400 athletes. Gulmarg sits at roughly 8,700 feet, and athletes describe altitude as a defining challenge — Jammu's Ankush Bazala has said competitors there train their lungs, nerves and patience as much as their legs.
Recent national medallists
At KIWG 2025, Menka Gunjiyal (Uttarakhand) won women's snowboarding slalom gold ahead of Sakshi Thakur and Natasha Maher (both Himachal Pradesh); Mehrajuddin Khan (J&K) won the men's slalom ahead of Zubair Ahmad Lone (J&K) and Vivek Rana (Army). At KIWG 2026, Zubair Ahmad Lone won snowboarding giant slalom gold — Jammu & Kashmir's only gold of that edition, taken on home snow. Preeti Thakur has also won gold for Himachal Pradesh.
Governance
Ski & Snowboard India is the national body overseeing both disciplines, working with the Winter Games Association of J&K and the Sports Authority of India on the Gulmarg competitions.

International Events

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

FIS competition
India's international snowboarding presence remains limited relative to alpine skiing — India's Winter Olympic representation at Milano Cortina 2026 came through alpine skier Arif Khan and cross-country skier Stanzin Lundup rather than snowboarders.

Leagues

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

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International Players

Globally recognised snowboarding athletes to know outside India.

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

Career Options

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

The same climate vulnerability that affects Indian skiing applies directly here: the Gulmarg leg of KIWG 2025 was postponed from February to March due to insufficient snowfall, and the 2024 edition was similarly delayed after a record dry Chillai-Kalan period
Institutional teams dominate — the Indian Army has repeatedly won the overall KIWG team championship, with Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and J&K the strongest state contingents
Talent is emerging from unexpected places: KIWG 2026 saw athletes from Bengaluru, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu competing on the Gulmarg slopes alongside Kashmiri and Himachali specialists
The Games have professionalized noticeably — physiotherapists and sports psychologists now accompany contingents where earlier editions relied on improvisation
Gulmarg's dual identity as a tourist destination and national winter sports hub supports allied careers in instruction, guiding and resort operations

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Related academies

0 listed

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

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Government Schemes

1 listed

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

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG)
Annual competition held in high-altitude regions to promote winter sports and identify talent for international competitions like the Winter Olympics.

All government schemes →

FAQs

Common questions about snowboarding in India.

Who governs Snowboarding in India?▾

We list Winter Games Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Snowboarding, 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 Snowboarding an Olympic sport?▾

Yes, Snowboarding is on the Olympic programme. Athletes selected by Winter Games Federation of India against its published criteria can be considered for TOPS funding.

How do I start playing Snowboarding 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 Winter Games Federation of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Snowboarding athletes?▾

TOPS supports a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines selected by the Mission Olympic Cell, rather than every Olympic sport. We hold no current list confirming whether Snowboarding is among them, so we make no TOPS claim for it. State governments give cash awards to medallists at events they notify. Snowboarding does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Snowboarding in every state & UT

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