National Games champions: The roll of honour
Services, composed of army men, have won the National Games four times - the most by any team.
First held in 1924 in Lahore, then undivided India, the primary purpose of the National Games, India’s own Olympic-style event, was to identify upcoming talent from across the country who could bring laurels at the Olympics.
Having motored along for several years, pre and post-Independence, the National Games of India were not considered high profile enough as the decades went by.
To boost its importance and lift its image, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) decided to revamp the National Games.
The structure of the National Games underwent a sea change ahead of the 26th edition in 1985 as the IOA decided to model it along the lines of the Olympic Games.
The IOA took responsibility to select host cities and organise the event. It created an athletes’ village to generate an Olympics-like atmosphere.
The move worked as the National Games became more glamorous with extensive media coverage. States tried to field their best athletes, often offering cash prizes to top sportspersons to secure their availability.
The overall winners of the National Games are awarded the Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy**.** Singh was a cricketer-turned-sports administrator who also served as president of the IOA.
The champion state is judged based on points scored - which is earned on the basis of finishing positions in various sports. In most cases, the medal toppers end up as champions.
The first edition of the revamped National Games was held in 1985 in the capital New Delhi. Maharashtra were crowned the champions, having topped the medal tally.
In 1987, the National Games moved to Kerala and was hosted in multiple cities for the first time as Cannanore (now Kannur), Calicut (now Kozhikode), Trichur (Thrissur), Cochin (Kochi), Quilon (Kollam) and Alleppey (now Alappuzha) welcomed more than 6,000 athletes.
Host state Kerala won in 1987 and it kick-started a trend that would continue for the next five editions - that of the hosts topping the medal tally.
In 1994, Maharashtra won their second title at the National Games held in Bombay (now Mumbai) and Pune.
Hosts Karnataka won the overall title at the 1997 National Games which was hosted by Bangalore and Mysore.
The 1999 National Games, which were the 30th edition, was a special one as it was held in Imphal, Manipur - the first time that the Games had been hosted in the northeast.
Hosts Manipur won the 1999 edition of the National Games. Though they came second behind Kerala in the medals tally, they amassed more points than Kerala.
A number of Manipur’s athletes finished fourth, just outside the podium, in their respective events and collected enough points to upstage medal tally toppers Kerala.
In 2001, hosts Punjab won the Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy and 2002 saw hosts Andhra Pradesh win the trophy. Tennis legend Sania Mirza, who hails from Hyderabad, was one of the gold-medallists for Andhra Pradesh in 2002.
“I was just 16 years old when I took part in the Games in 2002," Sania Mirza said. "I did well and came into the limelight. It proved to be the perfect impetus for my international career.”
Andhra Pradesh approached some of the best athletes from other states, offering better cash prizes for podium finishes. Tennis player Manisha Malhotra, an Olympian and Asian Games silver-medallist, and Delhi swimmer Richa Mishra were among those who took up the offer.
For the first time in six editions, the hosts were not the champions in 2007 as the Services Sports Control Board - a combined team of the Indian Armed Forces - won the trophy for the first time in history.
Hosts Assam finished in third position, winning 148 medals to Services’ 142 but Services had won 59 gold medals to Assam’s 38.
In 2011, Services won again, this time comfortably topping the medal tally with 162, with 70 golds, which was 22 more than the next best state Manipur. Hosts Jharkhand finished fifth.
Services completed a hat-trick in 2015, winning a staggering 91 gold medals and a total of 159. Hosts Kerala won 162 total medals but managed only 54 golds.
Though the next National Games were held after seven years in Gujarat, the dominance of Services continued as clinched the top spot with 128 medals; 61 golds, 35 silvers and 32 bronze.
Maharashtra ended Services' reign at the top since the 2007 Games in Guwahati at the National Games 2023 in Goa with a total of 228 medals, including 80 gold, 69 silver and 79 bronze medals.