Kamal Ghorui
SAI recruitment 2026: The Sports Authority of India has issued a recruitment notification for assistant coach posts across several sports disciplines, with the application window closing today. The drive aims to fill 323 vacancies under a regular Group B category, offering positions across multiple centres in India.As stated in the notice, the application procedure will start on March 23, 2026, and end on April 21, 2026. Application procedure for these posts will be through an online mode only using the website of the organization.Details of vacancy and eligibility criteriaThere is a total of 323 posts advertised for assistant coaches. For applying to the post, a candidate must be possessing a diploma in coaching from SAI NS-NIS or any other recognized institute. Besides this, participation in the Olympics, Asian Games, or World Championships, in addition to a coaching certificate, makes one eligible for the post. The candidates with the Dronacharya Award are also eligible for the same.For applying to this post, the upper age limit of candidates is fixed at 30 years as on January 16, 2026. The age relaxation clause is valid as per the norms set by the government.• Direct link to check and apply online for the Sports Authority of India assistant coach recruitment 2026Process of applying and chargesCandidates are expected to register themselves online and submit their photographs, signatures, proofs of identity, and proof of qualifications. The registration fee for applicants belonging to UR, OBC, and EWS categories would be ?2500. However, SC, ST, female, and ex-serviceman candidates have to deposit an amount of ?2000 as application fees. The fee should be paid only using online payment methods.Selection procedure and exam formatThe selection procedure has been divided into two rounds. The first round involves a computer-based test worth 40 percent and a coaching skill test of 60 percent.The written test will have a total of 100 MCQs that need to be solved in two hours. It would consist of subjects such as sports knowledge, sports science, logical reasoning, and general awareness. There will be a penalty of one-fourth marks for each wrong answer. Shortlisted candidates from the written test will appear for the next round on a 1:3 ratio.Provisions under the CorrigendumThrough the corrigendum, new provisions such as horizontal reservation of PwBD candidates and extended age relaxation have been included. It has also been clarified that a postgraduate diploma in sports coaching awarded by an accredited state university is acceptable as a qualifying degree.
