What is mallakhamb as a sport?
B · Beginner · Apparatus and competitions · 1 of 4Mallakhamb is an Indian sport in which athletes perform a set of holds, climbs, catches and drops on a wooden pole or a cotton rope. A chief judge and four judges score each set out of 10. At the school games boys compete on the pole and girls on the rope. The sport dates back to a text of 1135.
How it works
- Apparatus: pole, hanging pole or rope.
- School games: pole for boys, rope for girls.
- Set: a sequence of elements.
- Score: out of 10.
- Judges: a chief judge and four.
- Optional set: 60 to 90 seconds.
- Rules body: MFI, founded 1981.
- School body: SGFI.
The glossary has the mallakhamb, the Mallakhamb Federation of India, the School Games Federation of India, the pole mallakhamb, the rope mallakhamb and the optional set.
Tricky cases
Is mallakhamb a kind of gymnastics?
It grew up alongside it: national competitions began with the Gymnastics Federation of India in 1962.
Is hanging mallakhamb in the school games?
No. Only pole and rope.
Who wrote the scoring rules?
The MFI's Technical Committee, in its Code of Points.
When was the MFI formed?
On 29 January 1981, at Ujjain.
Why the rule exists
A set scored by a panel suits a sport where the skill is in how elements are performed, not in beating an opponent.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Boys | Pole | L R 2.1 |
| Girls | Rope | L R 2.1 |
| MFI events | Hanging pole too | L C 3 |
From the rule book
SGFI, Rules & Regulations: Mallakhamb, with the MFI Code of Points (2008 edition), rules 2 and 8 and Code of Points sections 2 and 3. Checked 15 October 2026. Official document: SGFI Rules & Regulations: Mallakhamb.