The prestigious 36th National Games 2022 will be held in Gujarat from September 27 to October 10, 2022 as announced by the Indian Olympic Association. The National Games were last held in 2015 in Kerala. It could not be held thereafter due to a variety of reasons, including Corona. The National Games are now set to take place after a gap of 7 years. Various sports competitions will be played across the state covering 6 cities like Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
Due to the postponement of the Asian Games 2022 and the National Games being held after a long hiatus, the Gujarat government had approached the Indian Olympic Association to organize the 36th National Games. More than 7,000 top players from across the country are expected to take part in more than 34 indoor and outdoor games, including athletics, hockey, football, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis, judo, wrestling, kabaddi, kho-kho, mallakhamba and yogasana.
Gujarat will enhance its capabilities while making the best use of its existing infrastructure to host the Games. The new infrastructure will be used to prepare the best players in the future.
The state recently concluded the 11th Khel Mahakumbh with a record registration of Rs 55 lakh and also organized a conference of ministers in charge of youth affairs and sports from all the states and union territories of the country in Ekta Nagar (Kevadia) last month.
Secretary General of the Indian Olympic Association, General Rajiv Mehta expressed happiness over Gujarat’s readiness to host the National Games. He mentioned that the infrastructure of the sports sector in the state was assessed in consultation with the Indian Olympic Association and the National Sports Federation of India and in his view, Gujarat is ready to host.
