The Chief Minister’s Trophy Sports Competitions 2026 were inaugurated by Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna, who also unveiled its logo.
On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Sports Development Authority, the Chief Minister’s Trophy Sports Competitions have been held every year. This year’s competitions are being conducted in five categories: school boys and girls, college boys and girls, the general public, government employees, and persons with disabilities. District- and zonal-level competitions are being held across all 38 districts of Tamil Nadu from September 9 to October 4.
Speaking at the inauguration of the competitions, Minister Aadhav Arjuna said: To participate in this year’s competitions, a record 26,38,267 male and female athletes have registered through the website, the highest ever. Last year, 16.28 lakh people had registered, and this year there have been 10,09,918 more registrations.
In the competitions held across Tamil Nadu, a large number of participants include 14,86,912 school students, 5,35,965 college students, 38,058 persons with disabilities, 69,890 government employees, and 5,07,741 members of the public. In the district, zonal, and state-level competitions, a total of 1,09,633 athletes have been given the opportunity to win medals. In Chennai, 99,119 people have registered. In Tiruvannamalai district, the highest number of registrations in Tamil Nadu has been recorded, with 1,74,462 people registered.
We announced that a special financial assistance of Rs. 7 lakh would be provided to athletes participating in the Asian Games. Accordingly, Rs. 2.52 crore is being provided to 36 athletes from Tamil Nadu who are taking part in the Asian Games being held in Japan. It has been announced that sports hostels will be built in all districts of Tamil Nadu.
The government will provide all assistance so that our athletes can achieve success in sports on the world stage. Therefore, I request that young people, students, and schoolgirls should also take part in sports, he said.
At this event, the Minister presented cheques of Rs. 7 lakh each to Joshna Chinappa, Velavan Senthilkumar, and Shamina Riyaz, who are participating in the Asian Games, and also unveiled the competition emblem, flag, and uniforms, and inaugurated the women’s football tournament. The event was attended by Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department Secretary Sandeep Nanduri, District Revenue Officer/General Manager R. Suman, General Manager L. Sujatha, government officials, and athletes.
