Chennai: The 2026 Chief Ministerās Trophy sports competitions began in Chennai on Wednesday, with Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna inaugurating the events at the Nehru Indoor Stadium.
The competitions will be held from September 9 to 22 across 45 sporting disciplines in five categories ā school and college students, persons with disabilities, government employees and the general public ā with cash prizes worth Rs 37 crore for the winners.
Speaking at the inaugural event, Aadhav Arjuna said more than 26 lakh sportspersons had registered across Tamil Nadu, describing it as an unprecedented response. Tiruvannamalai, his constituency district, recorded the highest registration with 1,74,462 participants. He said efforts would be intensified to raise the number of registrations to 50 lakh next year, while urging youngsters to take up sports as an effective means of fighting drug abuse. In an energetic interaction with students, he said, āWe have to run; we should not be carried while running.ā
The Minister said sports had no barriers of caste, religion or gender and that the goal was to surpass existing records. He announced that sports hostels would be established in all 38 districts, benefiting around 36,000 athletes. A talent identification team formed by the Tamil Nadu Sports Development Authority will identify promising performers in the Chief Ministerās Trophy competitions and provide them immediate admission to sports hostels. He also said the government would support talented children from the age of eight until they achieve success in competitive sports. Referring to leading athletes present at the event, he said they were future representatives of India at Asian and Commonwealth competitions. He added that Tamil Nadu was becoming the starting point for Indiaās growing sporting presence on the world stage.
In a first for the Stateās sports department, the Minister also launched a special financial assistance scheme under which Tamil Nadu athletes qualifying for the Asian and Commonwealth Games will receive Rs 7 lakh each. As the first beneficiaries, three of the 36 athletes selected under the scheme were handed cheques for Rs 7 lakh each by the Minister. Aadhav Arjuna said the governmentās focus was to create opportunities for young people through sport and described sport as the strongest alternative to drugs, calling upon youngsters to embrace it and bring greater recognition to Tamil Nadu and India.