Overview
- Origin
- China
- Category
- Combat
- Olympic discipline
- No
- Paralympic discipline
- No
- Central pathway
- Federation and state pathway
- Athlete profiles on SportSupport
- 7
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
- Wushu Association of India
- Ministry recognition
- Wushu Association of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
- International federation
- Not currently verified
- Khelo India inclusion
- Not currently verified
- TOPS eligibility
- Not currently verified
- Olympic status
- Not on the Olympic programme
- Paralympic status
- Not a Paralympic discipline
Wushu is listed on SportSupport in the combat category. Its recorded origin is China. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list Wushu Association of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.
Wushu has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through Wushu Association 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.
Scholarships & Funding
Central, state and private scholarships available for wushu 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 wushu.
- 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 wushu 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 wushu events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.
Indian Players
7 profiles- Kuldeep Kumar HandooIndia
Kuldeep Handoo is an Indian coach and a former Wushu player, who is the current national chief coach of the Wushu team in India. He was honored with the Dronacharya Award, becoming the first person to receive it from Jammu And Kashmir. In December 2020, he was nominated by the Prime Minister of India as the Ambassador of Fit India Movement.
- Naorem Roshibina DeviIndia
Naorem Roshibina Devi (born 30 December 2000) is an Indian wushu player who competes in the Sanda division.
- Narender GrewalIndia
Narender Grewal (born 11 July 1994) is an Indian wushu competitor. He was born in Satrod Khas, Hisar, Haryana, India. He won a bronze medal in the men's 60-kg sanda at the 2014 Asian Games.
- Pooja KadianHaryana
Pooja Kadian (born 1 October 1991 is an Indian Wushu player. She won Silver Medal in invitational sports of Wushu at the 9th World Games at Cali in Colombia, in Women's Sanda 60 kg. Kadian previously won gold in the 12th South Asian Games and alsobagged silver medals in the World Games 2013 and the World Championship in 2013 and 2015.
- Sandhyarani Devi WangkhemManipur
Sandhyarani Devi Wangkhem (born 1 February 1983) is an Indian martial art athlete from Manipur, who participates in Women's Sanshou (Wushu) 56 kg category. Sandhyarani won a Silver medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Fighting with a calf injury, she was defeated by Iranian Khadijeh Azadpour, who was the defending champion in 60 kg category.
- Surya Bhanu Pratap SinghIndia
Surya Bhanu Pratap Singh (born 12 November 1995) is an Indian wushu practitioner from Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir. He won bronze at the 2015 World Wushu Championships in Jakarta and bronze at the 2017 World Wushu Championships in Kazan in the men's Sanda 60 kg category. He also won the gold medal at 2016 South Asian Games in the same category.
- Vikrant BaliyanUttar Pradesh
Vikrant Baliyan is an Indian sanda fighter. He earned bronze medal in men's Sanda 60 kg at the 2019 World Wushu Championships in Shanghai, China, and gold medal in men's Sanda 60 kg at the 2019 South Asian Games in Pokhra, Nepal. Won Gold Medal in 9th Junior Asian Wushu Championship held from 14 September to 21 September 2017 India's Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju Wushu World Championships medal winners World Wushu Championship 2019 in Shanghai.
Rules
Wushu is contested in two distinct disciplines. In Taolu (forms), athletes perform choreographed routines — changquan, nanquan, taijiquan and weapon sets — judged out of 10 on quality of movement, overall performance and difficulty, with deductions for balance errors and incomplete techniques. In Sanda (full-contact fighting), two athletes fight on a raised leitai platform over rounds of two minutes, scoring points for strikes, kicks and throws; a clean throw that leaves the thrower standing scores highest, and forcing an opponent off the platform also scores. Bouts are won on rounds, knockout or technical superiority.
Authoritative rulebook: Wushu Association of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.
Positions
Typical roles across combat sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced wushu squad list.
- Fighter / competitorContests bouts inside the ring, mat or cage in a set weight category.
- Corner / secondCoach in the corner during the bout — allowed to instruct between rounds.
- Referee & judgesOfficiate the bout, score rounds and enforce safety rules.
- Cutman / medicalManages cuts, swelling and immediate medical needs between rounds.
Equipment
Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in wushu at a federation-recognised event.
- Taolu: silk competition uniform (changquan/nanquan/taijiquan styles)
- Taolu weapons: broadsword (dao), straightsword (jian), staff (gun), spear (qiang)
- Sanda: gloves, headgear, chest protector, shin/instep guards, groin guard, gum shield
- Raised leitai platform for Sanda; matted carpet for Taolu
Governing/organising body
Wushu Association of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Wushu. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.
- Origin
- China
- Olympic
- No
- Paralympic
- No
- Category
- Combat
Major Indian Events
Domestic competitions we hold a source for in wushu.
- National Wushu Championships (Senior, Junior, Sub-Junior)
Organized by the Wushu Association of India (WAI, headquartered in Lucknow, with 39 units across India) across both Taolu (forms) and Sanda (full-contact fighting) disciplines. WAI is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and is a full member of the Indian Olympic Association, affiliated to the International Wushu Federation.
International Events
Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in wushu.
- Asian Games
Wushu has been contested since 1990. India has won 10 medals overall (2 silver, 8 bronze) as of 2023, with Naorem Roshibina Devi's Hangzhou 2023 silver (women's 60kg sanda) matching the country's best-ever Asian Games wushu result.
- World Wushu Championship
India won 4 medals (3 silver, 1 bronze) at the 2025 edition in Brazil, with three Indian women — Aparna Dahiya, Kareena Kaushik and Shivani Prajapati — reaching Sanda finals for the first time in the sport's history in India.
Leagues
No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for wushu. The national championship under Wushu Association of India remains the top domestic competition.
All leagues →International Players
Globally recognised wushu athletes to know outside India.
The international federation for wushu maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.
Career Options
Ways to build a career in wushu — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.
- Playing pathway through WAI's Sub-Junior, Junior and Senior National Championships across both Taolu and Sanda disciplines
- Indian wushu athletes have won 6 Arjuna Awards and 1 Dronacharya Award over the past decade, reflecting growing government recognition of the sport
- Sports-quota employment is a real pathway — competitive athletes such as Asian Championships medallist Pawan Gupta have secured positions with the Indian Air Force alongside their sporting careers
- SAI has committed to year-long training camps for the wushu team ahead of the 2026 Asian Games
Related academies
3 listed- SAI North-East Regional Centre, ImphalNationalImphal, Manipur · Since 1985
Northeast's premier residential centre, running nine NCOE disciplines from archery and cycling to wushu and weightlifting.
- SAI Central Regional Centre, BhopalNationalBhopal, Madhya Pradesh · Since 1990
Hosts the only national sailing academy plus NCOE boxing, judo, wushu and kayaking & canoeing programmes.
- SAI National Centre of Excellence, ItanagarNationalItanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
SAI's National Centre of Excellence in Itanagar, for boxing, weightlifting and wushu.
Government Schemes
1 listedCentral and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for wushu athletes and academies.
All government schemes →FAQs
Common questions about wushu in India.
Who governs Wushu in India?▾
We list Wushu Association of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Wushu, 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 Wushu an Olympic sport?▾
No, Wushu is not on the Olympic programme.
How do I start playing Wushu 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 Wushu Association of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.
What government schemes support Wushu athletes?▾
TOPS does not apply, as Wushu 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. Wushu does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.
Wushu in every state & UT
Dedicated pages for Wushu in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.
- Wushu in Andhra Pradesh
- Wushu in Arunachal Pradesh
- Wushu in Assam
- Wushu in Bihar
- Wushu in Chhattisgarh
- Wushu in Goa
- Wushu in Gujarat
- Wushu in Haryana
- Wushu in Himachal Pradesh
- Wushu in Jharkhand
- Wushu in Karnataka
- Wushu in Kerala
- Wushu in Madhya Pradesh
- Wushu in Maharashtra
- Wushu in Manipur
- Wushu in Meghalaya
- Wushu in Mizoram
- Wushu in Nagaland
- Wushu in Odisha
- Wushu in Punjab
- Wushu in Rajasthan
- Wushu in Sikkim
- Wushu in Tamil Nadu
- Wushu in Telangana
- Wushu in Tripura
- Wushu in Uttar Pradesh
- Wushu in Uttarakhand
- Wushu in West Bengal
- Wushu in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Wushu in Chandigarh
- Wushu in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
- Wushu in Delhi
- Wushu in Jammu & Kashmir
- Wushu in Ladakh
- Wushu in Lakshadweep
- Wushu in Puducherry