Gujarat to host National Games from Sep 27; first time in state: CM Bhupendra Patel

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday announced that the state will host the 36th edition of the National Games between September 27 and October 10.

This is for the first time that Gujarat will be hosting this prestigious event, state Principal Secretary for Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, Ashwani Kumar, said.

"Gujarat will host the 36th National games from September 27 to October 10. I am thankful to the IOA (Indian Olympic Association) for accepting Gujarat's proposal to organise the event in the state," chief minister Patel announced in a tweet this morning.

He added that since Gujarat is well-equipped with world-class sports infrastructure, the state administration will leave no stone unturned to make this edition of the National Games the best sporting event so far.

Minister of State for Sports, Harsh Sanghavi, exuded confidence that Gujarat will be successful in hosting the mega event although there are only three months left for it.

He added that various sporting events will be held across six cities - Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.

"More than 7,000 top sportspersons of the country are expected to showcase their might in over 34 disciplines including indoor and outdoor sports such as athletics, hockey, football, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis, judo, wrestling, kabaddi and kho-kho," the minister said in a statement.

The last edition of the National Games was organised in Kerala in 2015. Due to various reasons, including the pandemic, the games are now being organised after a gap of seven years, Sanghavi said.