National Games 2022 to be held in Gujarat in September-October
The events will be held in six cities - Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
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.
In its 36th edition now, the National Games will witness more than 7,000 athletes competing in over 30 sports. The events will be held across six cities - Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
The Games will have indoor and outdoor sporting events such as athletics, hockey, football, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis and judo.
Indigenous sports such as kabaddi, kho-kho, mallakhamb and yogasana have also been included in the National Games programme.
The last edition of the National Games was held in Kerala in 2015, in which more than 7,700 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 Kerala’s 54 (162 overall).
The 36th National Games was to be organised in Goa but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Games were first held in Lahore, British India, in 1924.