National Games of India

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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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."^[3]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6][7]

Summer

More information List of National Games of India, Edition ...

List of National Games of India
Edition	Year	Host(s)	Start date	End date	Sports	Events	Teams	Competitors	Top placed team
Indian Olympic Games
1	1924	Lahore
2	1926
3	1928
4	1930	Allahabad
5	1932	Madras
6	1934	New Delhi
7	1936	Lahore
8	1938	Calcutta
National Games
9	1940	Bombay
10	1942	Patiala
11	1944	Lahore
12	1946
13	1948	Lucknow
14	1952	Madras
15	1953	Jabalpur
16	1954	New Delhi
17	1956	Patiala
18	1958	Cuttack
19	1960	New Delhi
20	1962	Jabalpur
21	1964	Calcutta
22	1966	Bangalore
23	1968	Madras
24	1970	Cuttack
25	1979	Hyderabad
National Games (Summer Olympics format)
26	1985	New Delhi	19 November	26 November	26		21		Maharashtra
27	1987	Cannanore, Calicut, Trichur, Cochin, Quilon, Aleppey	20 December	28 December	22			6400	Kerala
28	1994	Bombay, Pune	16 January	25 January	27	290	28		Maharashtra
29	1997	Bangalore, Mysore	31 May	11 June	26			5245	Karnataka
30	1999	Imphal	14 February	25 February	27		30	6278	Manipur
31	2001	Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib, Mohali	19 November	1 December	27			8000	Punjab
32	2002	Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam	13 December	22 December	30		34	5,887	Andhra Pradesh
33	2007	Guwahati	9 February	18 February	32	425	33	10,945	Services
34	2011	Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad	12 February	26 February	33	444	36	8,511
35	2015	Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kannur	31 January	14 February	33	404	37	7,744
36	2022	Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar	20 September	10 October	36	382	37	7,000
37	2023	Mapusa, Panaji, Ponda, Vasco da Gama, Margao, and New Delhi[8]	25 October	9 November	43	555	37	10,000+	Maharashtra
38	2025	Dehradun, Haridwar, Shivpuri, New Tehri, Nainital, Haldwani, Rudrapur	28 January	14 February	35	441	37	11,354	Services
39	2027	Meghalaya	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC

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Winter

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List of Winners

More information Year, Host ...

Year	Host	1st Position	2nd Position	3rd Position
2002	Andhra Pradesh	Andhra Pradesh	Punjab	Services
2007	Assam	Services	Manipur	Assam
2011	Jharkhand			Haryana
2015	Kerala		Kerala
2022	Gujarat		Maharashtra
2023	Goa	Maharashtra	Services
2025	Uttarakhand	Services	Maharashtra

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