Kurash — Step-by-Step Roadmap

1. 1
   Stage 1 · From 4 Grassroots & local entry

   Learn standing grips and throws in a yakhtak at a club of your state kurash association; first check its federation is recognised by the Sports Ministry. [1][9][12]

2. 2
   Stage 2 · Cadet 14–15 · junior 16–17 State to national breakthrough

   State and national championships; KIYG medals count for central jobs. [1][6][14]

3. 3
   Stage 3 · Senior Asian & World Championships

   Medals here earn government cash awards. No SAI NCOE or STC runs kurash. [7][9]

4. ★
   Stage 4 · Senior Asian Games

   India's national team at the Asian Games. Kurash is not on the LA28 list. [3][4]

Fuel, from stage 1: food first. Pair cereals with pulses about 3:1 — roti or rice with dal, chana or rajma; vegetarians add milk or curd, others eggs, fish or meat. ICMR-NIN says most athletes get enough protein from food and protein powders are unnecessary; NADA warns that no supplement is risk-free. [15][16]

• Everyone in one class is weighed on the same day, on the same scales, 2 hours before the competition. The weigh-in lasts no more than 1 hour.
• Bring your identification card. You are weighed in shorts or swimming trunks only.
• No weigh-in, no fight. You may fight in only one weight class (plus the open 'absolute' class if the Chief Referee allows).
• Youths of 16–17 may enter adult events with the Chief Referee's permission. [1]

Age groups for 2026 (by year of birth) [1]

• IKA follows the WADA rules: anything on the Prohibited List is banned, and you may not refuse a doping test at an IKA event. [1]

• In India you must be available for testing, check every medicine against the Prohibited List, and apply to NADA for a TUE if you need a banned medicine. [8]

The kurash ladder [1][7][3]

• Kurash is not among the sports at SAI's National Centres of Excellence or Training Centres. Players train at clubs of their state kurash association; a club needs a proper gilam with blue and green mats. [9][1]

Kit the rules ask for [1]

• Only these markings are allowed: the state emblem (up to 10 × 10 cm), the maker's mark (3 × 3 cm), shoulder marks and a back patch (25 × 25 cm). Education Margdarshan does not print shop prices — IKA publishes none. [1]

Who pays [10]

• Kurash is not a Khelo India Games sport, so the ₹6.28 lakh Khelo India athlete grant does not apply. [6][10]

• Kurash is not on the DoPT list of 65 sports for central Group C sports-quota posts, and the 2026 Western Railway and CRPF notices had no kurash posts.
• The money is in medals: Asian Games and World or Asian Kurash Championship medals earn the cash awards above. [11][12][13][7]

1. International Kurash Association — International rules of organization and holding of Kurash competitions (opens in a new tab) Scores (Khalol, Yonbosh, Chala), Jazo, penalties (Tanbekh, Dakki, Girrom), gilam sizes, uniform, weigh-in, 2026 age and weight categories, bout times, knock-out format, WADA rules · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
3. Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games — Sports (opens in a new tab) Kurash at the 2026 Asian Games · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
4. LA28 — 2028 Olympic Games Plan (sports list) (opens in a new tab) LA28 sports list (kurash not included) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
6. Khelo India Youth Games 2025 (Bihar) — official site (opens in a new tab) KIYG sport list (kurash not included) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
7. MYAS — Scheme of Cash Incentive to Medal Winners (amended 1 Feb 2025) (opens in a new tab) Award amounts; Asian Games all disciplines; Kurash — World and Asian Kurash Championships (biennial); 12-country rule · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
8. NADA India — Athlete's Rights & Responsibilities (opens in a new tab) Testing availability, Prohibited List, TUE · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
9. SAI — Brief on Sports Promotional Schemes 2024-25 (opens in a new tab) NCOE and STC sport lists (kurash not included) · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
10. PIB — Financial Support to Athletes (5 Aug 2024) (opens in a new tab) Khelo India, TOPS, welfare fund, pension · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
11. DoPT — Instructions on Recruitment/Promotion for Sportspersons (18 Nov 2022) (opens in a new tab) 65-sport list (kurash not included) · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
12. Western Railway RRC — Employment Notice RRC/WR/01/2026 (Sports Quota), 27 Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) 2026-27 sports-quota posts (kurash not included); recognised-federation rule · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
13. CRPF — Recruitment of Meritorious Sportspersons, HC & Constable (GD), Sports Quota 2026 (Advt. R.II-21/2026-Sports, 17 Sep 2026) (opens in a new tab) 2026 sports-quota disciplines (kurash not included); recognised-federation rule · Last checked 18 Oct 2026
14. DoPT Office Memorandum, 4 March 2024 — Incentive for Sportspersons (opens in a new tab) Khelo India Games, Junior Nationals and SGFI medallists added · Last checked 15 Oct 2026
15. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition — Dietary Guidelines for Indians (booklet), Guideline 8 (opens in a new tab) Cereal-pulse 3:1 protein quality, vegetarian and non-vegetarian protein sources; most athletes meet protein needs from food, protein powders unnecessary · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
16. NADA India — Managing the Risk of Nutritional Supplements (opens in a new tab) Supplement risk, strict liability, food-first approach · Last checked 15 Oct 2026