Gujarat will host the 36th National Games 2022 — for the first time — starting September 27 to October 10, 2022, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced. The National Games will have more than 34 sports disciplines to be conducted in six cities.
"I am thankful to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for immediately accepting Gujarat's proposal (to conduct National Games in the State)... Gujarat will leave no stone unturned in making this event the best," the Chief Minister said in a Tweet.
More than 7,000 top sportspersons of the country are expected to showcase their might in indoor and outdoor sports such as athletics, hockey, football, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis, judo, khushti, kabaddi, kho-kho, mallakhambha and yogansana.
The various sporting events will be spread across the State covering Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. This will ensure a larger community movement through means of sports.
Aligned with the Olympic movement, Gujarat will enhance and optimally utilise its existing infrastructure to organise these games. “This way, the infrastructure created and enhanced will continue to be utilised by the State’s sportspersons regularly,” Gujarat Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Harsh Sanghvai said in a statement.
The National Sports Federation has inspected with the guidelines mentioned.
Indian Olympic Association
Secretary-General of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Rajeev Mehta expressed his happiness with Gujarat’s readiness to organise the National Games. He mentioned that the infrastructure in the State was assessed in consultation with the IOA and National Sports Federation and the details of the sports were finalised accordingly, a statement said.
With just three months to go for the event, Sanghavi stated that the State administration will set an example for other States in planning and execution. "Organising these games in a record period of three months by optimally utilising the existing infrastructure, will set a new example and a role model for other States to conduct mega sporting events," he said.