The National Games of India (ISO: ) consist of various disciplines in which athletes from the different states of India participate against each other. The country's first few Olympic Games, now renamed as National Games, were held in Lahore (now in Pakistan), Delhi, Allahabad, Patiala, Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
History Indian Olympic Games (early National Games) In the early 1920s, the Indian chapter of the Olympic movement was born, and India participated in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.Some founders of the Indian Olympic movement were Dorabji Tata, A. G. Noehren (Madras College of Physical Education), H. C. Buck (Madras College of Physical Education), Moinul Haq (Bihar Sports Associations), Sohrab Bhoot (Bombay Olympic Association), Bhagwat (Deccan Gymkhana), and G. D. Sondhi (Punjab Olympic Association). Lt. Col. H. L. O. Garrett (vice principal of Government College, Lahore) and Sagnik Poddar (of St. Stephen's School) helped organise the early national games. And prominent patrons included Maharajas and royal princes Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, Ranji of Nawanagar, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, and the Maharaja of Burdwan. See also As part of this movement, a provisional Indian Olympic Association (IOA) came about by 1924, and the Indian Olympic Games were held in Feb 1924 in Delhi to select Indian competitors for the 1924 Paris Olympics.Brochures of the 1940s national games mention that the first national games in Delhi were in Feb 1924, though some mention a date of December 1923. All sources are consistent for the 1928 games in Lahore, 1930 games in Allahabad, and for later games. IOA Secretary Dr. Noehren wrote about these games as follows: "The All India Athletic Carnival, the greatest and most representative gathering of its kind ever to be held in India, was recently celebrated in Delhi...Seventy athletes, representing practically every province and State in the Empire, comprising Hindus, Muslims, Anglo-Indians and Sinhalese, ate their food around the same table and mingled intimately in the cramped and uncomfortable quarters provided."Brochure, Madras Provincial Olympic Games, January 1950, Madras, p.6
The games were then held every two years, and were renamed as National Games during the 9th Games in Bombay in 1940. Indian Olympic Association, the sports organising body of the nation, mooted the concept of the National Games to promote the development of sports and of the Olympic movement in India, and was responsible for host city selection.
Each games was organised by the host city sports association, and each had its unique challenges. For example, in late 1949, the Bengal Provincial Olympic Association, whose turn it was to hold the next national games, could not do so, and the IOA President Maharaja of Patiala then asked Bombay to host the games; it had just three months to organise the event. Bombay government ministers and Bombay olympic association officials then worked to hold the 1950 National Games in Bombay in early February 1950.
While held at various cities, the organisation of each national games was roughly similar, with an overarching 'Jury of Honour and Appeal' comprising the main officials for the games; and other officials such as a General Manager and Managers; Referee; Official Surveyor; Judges; Starters; Clerks of the Course; Recorders; Announcers; Scorers; Marshals; and Photographers.
For example, at the 11th Games in Patiala, Feb 1944, the Jury of Honor and Appeal comprised Moinul Haq (Chair), N. Ahmed, S. K. Mukherjee, S. de Noronha, Sohrab Bhoot, J. N. Khosla, Raja Birindra Singh, A. C. Dass, M. S. Ahluwalia, BR Kagal, CR Dhodapkar, Nawab Hussain, S. V. Lingras, Dr. Kailash Singh, N. N. Kunzru, and P. K. Varghese. And the officials included 6 Managers for various sports, General Manager Kirpa Narain, announcers Bashir Ali Sheikh and Prem Kumar, and several judges.
At the 13th Games in Lucknow, Feb. 1948, the Jury of Honour and Appeal comprised Moinul Haq (Chair), M. Sultan, Sohrab Bhoot, D. N. Sharma, M. G. Nageshkar, Raja Bhalinder Singh, B. C. Holanti, Rameshwar Dayal, S. de Noronha, P. K. Verghese, N. Ahmed, A. C. Das, Kirpa Narain, P. C. Joshi, G. D. Sondhi, Janki Das, Harbail Singh, Vasant Captain, and A. R. Khanna. And the officials included General Manager M. Sultan and 8 Managers for various sports; Referee G. D. Sondhi; Official Surveyors G. D. Sondhi, N. Ahmed, Sohrab Bhoot, and M. Sultan; announcer David Abraham; and several judges and other officials.
At the 14th Games in Bombay, Feb 1950, the Jury of Honour and Appeal comprised G. D. Sondhi (Chair), N. Ahmed, R. Narain, Sohrab Bhoot, M. Sultan, R. Dayal, F. C. Aurora, S. S. Dhawan, Bhalinder Singh, M. G. Nageshkar, A. S. de Mello, S. K. Basu, B. C. Mahante, and C. C. Abraham. And the officials included Referee Moinul Haq; Manager in Chief Sohrab Bhoot; Managers Nariman Saugar and Y. A. Gole; announcer David Abraham; and judges and other officials.
Modern National Games of India For several years in the mid-twentieth century, the national games were conducted on a low key note. However, the first Modern National Games on the lines of the Olympics were held in 1985 in New Delhi. Thereafter Kerala (1987), Pune, Maharashtra (1994), Bangalore, Karnataka (1997), Manipur (1999), Ludhiana, Punjab (2001), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (2002), Guwahati, Assam (2007), Ranchi, Jharkhand (2011), Trivandrum, Kerala (2015) and Ahmedabad, Gujarat (2022) hosted the Games. Like the early games, the modern games had their challenges: for example, a decision on the sixth modern National Games in Ludhiana, Punjab was delayed because the Central Government diverted funding for the first Afro-Asian Games.Decision on National Games on Aug.2 , The Tribune, 31 July 2001. The National Games were normally to be held every two years, leaving those years in which the Olympic Games and Asian Games are scheduled. In exceptional cases or natural calamity, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) can relax the general rule. In practice, the games were often held at three to four year intervals in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.
In recent editions, an emphasis has been placed on including and promoting traditional Indian games such as kho-kho and sqay.National Games 2023 scheduled to be held in Goa from 26 Oct. to 9 Nov. https://olympics.com/
All editions Summer List of National Games of IndiaEditionYearHost(s)Start dateEnd dateSportsEventsTeamsCompetitorsTop placed teamIndian Olympic Games11924 Lahore 21926 31928 41930 Allahabad 51932 Madras 61934 New Delhi 71936 Lahore 81938 Calcutta National Games91940 Bombay 101942 Patiala 111944Lahore 121946 131948 Lucknow 141952 Madras 151953 Jabalpur 161954 New Delhi 171956 Patiala 181958 Cuttack 191960 New Delhi 201962 Jabalpur 211964 Calcutta 221966 Bangalore 231968 Madras 241970 Cuttack 251979 Hyderabad National Games (Summer Olympics format)261985 New Delhi 19 November 26 November26 21 Maharashtra271987Cannanore, Calicut, Trichur, Cochin, Quilon, Aleppey 20 December 28 December22 6400 Kerala281994 Bombay, Pune 16 January 25 January2729028 Maharashtra291997 Bangalore, Mysore 31 May 11 June26 5245 Karnataka301999 Imphal 14 February 25 February27 30 6278 Manipur312001 Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib, Mohali 19 November 1 December27 8000 Punjab322002 Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam 13 December 22 December30 345,887 Andhra Pradesh 332007 Guwahati 9 February 18 February324253310,945 Services 342011 Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad 12 February 26 February33444368,511352015 Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kannur 31 January 14 February33404377,74436 2022 Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar 20 September 10 October36 382 377,000372023Mapusa, Panaji, Ponda, Vasco da Gama, Margao, and New DelhiNew Delhi, is only for Cycling (Track) and Golf event25 October9 November43 555 3710,000+ Maharashtra382025Dehradun, Haridwar, Shivpuri, New Tehri, Nainital, Haldwani, Rudrapur28 January14 February35 441 37 11,354 Services 392027 Meghalaya February MarchTBCTBCTBCTBC 402029Pondicherry, Chennai and BhubaneswarTBATBA
Winter List of National Winter Games of India Competition name Number Year Venue National Winter Games 1 1996 Gulmarg 2 2000 Manali 3 2002 Auli 4 2004 Gulmarg 5 2008
Beach List of National Beach Games of India Competition name Number Year Venue Beach Games 1 2024 Diu
List of Winners
Year Host 1st Position 2nd Position 3rd Position2002 Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Punjab Services2007 Assam Services Manipur Assam2011 Jharkhand Haryana2015 Kerala Kerala2022 Gujarat Maharashtra2023 Goa Maharashtra Services2025 Uttarakhand Services Maharashtra
Performance of host states In recent times, the host states of National Games have consistently featured in the top 5 in the overall medal tally. Kerala had become the Champions when it hosted the event in 1987. The 1997 National Games was hosted by Karnataka and they won the largest number of medals. Manipur which had finished 9th in the 1997 National Games, became the overall champions when they hosted the event two years later. In 2001, hosts Punjab became the champions. Andhra Pradesh which had won only 11 Gold Medals in 2001 went on to become the Champions when they hosted it in 2002 winning a whopping 94 Gold Medals overall. Assam had managed to win only a single gold medal and had finished 21st position in 2001. But, in the subsequent 2007 National Games that they hosted, they were the second runners-up winning a total of 38 Gold Medals. In 2011, Assam finished 15th overall winning only 5 Gold Medals. Jharkhand had been in the 15th position in 2007 National Games. They rose to the 5th position when they hosted it in 2011. In 2015, hosts Kerala secured the second spot in the medal tally. One main reason for this trend is the higher number of participants from the host state and comparatively lesser number of participants from other states.
Future development Though National Games are supposed to be held once in 2 years, it is faltering on this schedule. It took Ahmedabad seven years to conduct the games after 2015 edition in Kerala.
The 34th National Games had been postponed six times before finally opening on 12 February 2011. The 35th National Games were to be held at Thiruvananthapuram in 2012, it was then announced that it would be held from 31 January to 14 February 2015. The 36th National Games were to be held at Goa as announced at the closing ceremony of 35th National Games in Thiruvananthapuram, Goa contingent said the games would be held in November 2016, then it was postponed to November 2017, however Goa has now declared it inability to host the games altogether. Uttarakhand was to host the 37th National Games. The 38th National Games were to be held after that in January 2019 in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh.
The 36th edition of the National Games was held in the year 2022 in the state of Gujarat.
Greening the National Games The 2015 National Games organised in Thiruvananthapuram were associated with green protocols. This was initiated by Suchitwa Mission that aimed for "zero-waste" venues. Waste Management programmes were implemented at the 29 venues. To make the event "disposable-free", there was ban on the usage of disposable water bottles. The event witnessed the usage of reusable tableware and stainless steel tumblers. Athletes were provided with refillable steel flasks. It is estimated that these green practices stopped the generation of 120 metric tonnes of disposable waste. Suchitwa Mission requested the help of volunteers to achieve the green objectives, and the service of these 700 volunteers were applauded by the Chief Minister.
See also Sport in India Khelo India Khelo India Youth Games Khelo India Winter Games Khelo India Para Games Khelo India University Games Sukma Games
References
External links Kerala 2015 National Games Schedule of 34th National Games of India, Jharkhand