Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the opening of the first World Yogasana Championship in Ahmedabad on June 4, 2026, asking visiting participants to take the Ayush Ministry's Yoga 365 message back to their communities. His appeal came before the June 21 International Day of Yoga, whose announced theme was Yoga for Healthy Ageing.
The five-day competition at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena brought together a 122-member Indian team across six age divisions, according to the closing account. These ranged from sub-juniors aged 10-14 and juniors aged 14-18 to seniors aged 18-28. Three further senior divisions covered ages 28-35, 35-45 and 45-55.
India's selection programme was organised by Yogasana Bharat at the Devi Lal Northern Regional Centre in the Sports Authority of India complex in Sonipat. The Bridge reported that trials were scheduled for May 1 for the four senior groups, followed by junior and sub-junior trials on May 2.
The trials covered ten disciplines: traditional yogasana; artistic singles and pairs; rhythmic pairs; and individual events in supine positions, forward bends, back bends, body twisting, leg balance and hand balance. The report said athletes selected there would represent India at the June 4-8 world championship under World Yogasana.
PIB's June 8 closing account recorded 522 athletes from 79 countries and 114 Indian medals, including 102 golds. Its published results show the category structure directly: Indu Mathuria and Devi won senior women's rhythmic-pair gold with 71.77 points, while Shilpa Das won senior women's hand-balance gold with 45.79.
The medal standings also distinguish total medals from rank. Japan finished second with three golds and 11 medals overall; Nepal collected 52 medals but, with one gold, finished fifth. Those figures help explain a championship with numerous specialised events: a delegation's breadth of podium finishes and its number of winning performances can produce different comparisons.
