In yet another attempt by the country to emerge as a sporting nation, the 36th National Games were declared open at the Narendra Modi International Stadium on September 30, 2022. The opening ceremony which had a remarkable light and sound show witnessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurate the games. More than one lakh spectators turned up for the opening ceremony.

In keeping with the Olympic convention, but with a modern twist, Gujarat's swimming star Maana Patel brought in the symbolic Torch of Unity into the arena and handed it over to the Prime Minister. Watched and applauded by several current and past sports icons, including Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, Olympic medallists PV Sindhu, Ravi Dahiya, Mirabai Chanu, Gagan Narang, former national hockey captain and new HI chief Dilip Tirkey along with World Championship medallist Anju Bobby George, the Prime Minister placed the Torch on the podium for it to be lit by augmented

The games will be held in six cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Bhavnagar.

Teams from each of India’s 28 states and eight union territories, as well as one from the Indian Armed Forces, are anticipated.

Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu, three recent union territories, are anticipated to participate in their first National Games.

A team representing Bodoland may also compete in these games because the Bodoland Territorial Region was provided with the opportunity to compete in national level sporting events under the provisions of a contract signed in January 2020.

The first National Games were held prior to independence, organised by the All India Olympic Committee in 1924 at Lahore. Then, it was referred to as the “All India Olympic Games.”

Since 1924, there have been four iterations of the Games, with the first three taking place in Lahore and the fourth in Allahabad. The tournament was renamed the “National Games” in 1940, and Mumbai served as the host city. The inaugural National Games after independence were held in Lucknow in 1948.