36TH NATIONAL GAMES

The genesis of the National Games is in the Olympic movement which gathered momentum in the country in the 1920s The need to identify national talent that could be picked for the Olympic Games ed the initiation of the National Games The culmination of the efforts of Dr A G Noehren and Harry Crowe Buck to assimilate and channel the energy of the youth through a pan India sporting event led to the launch of the 1st edition of the Indian Olympic Games at Lahore in an undivided Punjab in 1924 The first three editions were all held in the city of Lahore After the eighth edition in 1938 in Calcutta the event was christened as the National Games The city of Lucknow hosted the National Games in its first post independence avatar while the first National Games on the lines of the Olympics were held in 1985 in New DelhiThe duration and the regulations of the National Games are entirely within the jurisdiction of the Indian Olympic Association Notwithstanding the frequent periods of stresses and strains the Olympic Movement has not lost its sheen or vigor On the contrary it is strengthening thanks to the involvement of the state governments across the country in creating sophisticated state of the art infrastructure in centers like Guwahati Ranchi Kerala Goa etc. The last edition of the National Games was held in Kerala in 2015 in which more than 7700 athletes participated in over 30 sports events. In the 2015 National Games swimmer Sajan Prakash emerged as the top athlete with eight medals including two golds Services led the overall medals tally with 91 golds (159 medals overall) ahead of Keralas 54 (162 overall)The 36th National Games was to be organized in Goa but was postponed because of the COVID19 pandemic The Indian Olympic Association IOA has given its nod for the National Games 2022 to be hosted in Gujarat from September 27 to October 10 This will be the first time the Games will be held in the state. 36 States UTs will participate across Competitions in 36 sports with participation of nearly 20,000 sportspersons coaches and other Government officials.