More than 5,000 athletes as KP Under-21 Games open at Peshawar Sports Complex

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa staged one of the largest youth multi-sport events in Pakistan this year when the KP Under-21 Games opened at the Peshawar Sports Complex on 4 February 2026.

Opening night

Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi formally inaugurated the games at a ceremony that featured a march-past by district contingents, traditional dances from different parts of the province and a fireworks display. The event was organised by the Directorate General of Sports, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and drew more than 5,000 young male and female athletes from all districts and seven regions of the province.

Those present included Adviser on Sports and Youth Affairs Taj Muhammad Tarand, Secretary Sports Muhammad Asif Khan, Director General Sports Tashfeen Haider and Additional Director General Rasheeda Ghaznavi, along with other provincial officials.

In his remarks, the chief minister said the provincial government was focused on developing sports infrastructure and widening participation, and argued that young athletes from the province could represent Pakistan in many disciplines beyond cricket.

A broad programme

The games were notable for their range. APP's pre-event report listed 35 disciplines for men and 18 for women. The men's programme stretched from Olympic staples such as athletics, hockey, boxing, wrestling, judo and weightlifting to local and emerging sports including kabaddi, mas-wrestling, tug of war, teqball, lacrosse and zorkhana. Squash, a sport with deep roots in the province, was also on the list, as were futsal and football.

The women's programme of 18 sports included athletics, badminton, table tennis, squash, volleyball, hockey, cricket, futsal, netball, basketball, handball and softball, among others.

Spread across the province

Rather than squeezing everything into one site, the organisers spread events across several venues:

• Men: Peshawar Sports Complex, Hayatabad Sports Complex, Kohat Sports Complex and Mardan Sports Complex.
• Women: venues including the Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex in Charsadda, the Peshawar Board Ground and the Hayatabad Sports Complex.

That approach let districts outside the provincial capital host competition and reduced the pressure on any single facility. It also gave women's events dedicated venues, an important practical step in encouraging families to let daughters compete.

The games had been rescheduled before they started. On 13 January 2026, APP reported that a planning meeting chaired by Taj Muhammad Tarand approved fresh dates, with the opening set for 4 February, and directed officials to complete arrangements in time. The event then opened as planned.

Why it matters

Large age-group games are where provincial selectors identify talent for national championships and departmental teams. For a province that has produced generations of squash and hockey players, an Under-21 event of this scale offers a structured way to find the next group, and the size of the women's programme is a sign of steady growth in female participation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The challenge now is follow-through: regular district-level leagues and coaching between editions, so that the young athletes who stepped on to the field in February have somewhere to keep competing.