Nagaland Esports Society and Mumbai Falcons Racing officials at the announcement of the Kohima round of the F1 Sim (simulated) Racing India Open 2026 in Chümoukedima on August 25. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 25
The Nagaland Esports Society (NES) announced the Kohima round of the F1 Sim (simulated) Racing India Open 2026. The event, a collaboration between Tech X Gaming Expo 2026 (TXG) and Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited, is being organised by the Nagaland Esports Society (NES) at the NBCC Convention Hall on August 28 and 29.
Making the announcement at a press conference in Chümoukedima, on August 24, NES said that the event will feature esports tournaments, the F1 Sim Racing India Open Kohima Round, a 48-hour Game Jam, an AI Creative Video Challenge, a Digital Art Challenge, a Cosplay Championship, workshops, seminars, panel discussions, exhibitions and live entertainment. As per the organisers, it will bring together competitive gaming, technology, artificial intelligence, digital creativity, education and entertainment under one platform.
“Even though we are from a very far region, they have taken this bold leap of faith and have come all the way... I really do hope that the outcome that we expect will be fulfilled,” said NES President Moalong Longkumer. According to Longkumer, the idea is to expose the youth, including students, as well as parents to the different digital career paths, which also includes sim racing.
Ishaan Bhataya, General Manager of Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited, said that the F1 Sim Racing India Open is designed to “democratise” motorsport and establish a structured grassroots pathway for the youth. He stated that simulators serve as an unbiased talent identification tool. “A simulator doesn’t know your name, your age, your gender, your race, your religion, or your caste... and the stopwatch never lies,” Bhataya said. While stating that the initiative aims to reach out to north-eastern India’s youth, he said that the nationwide programme has already engaged over 30,000 children across 50 educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs,
The national tournament features junior (ages 10-14) and senior (ages 14+) categories. Winners of both categories will receive Rs 1 crore each from a total prize pool of Rs 2 crore, with 1000 participants advancing to the grand finale in Mumbai.
Following the simulator phase, selected junior racers under 18 will transition to real-world four-stroke and two-stroke go-karts. This progression is supported by a Rs 3 crore driver development fund.
According to Bhataya, this initiative aims to help parents understand that motorsports and associated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields represent viable career paths.
The organisers said that programme is endorsed by Indian cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Jemimah Rodrigues as ambassadors.
