Context
- Recently, the 36th National Games was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Gujarat.
36th National Games
- The National Games, being held after seven years, will witness India’s best athletes compete in.
- The Official mascot for the 36th National Games is “SAVAJ”. The stance of the Mascot clearly portrays a sportsman’s most prominent personality traits of self-confidence, vigour, a strong sense of motivation, an inner desire to succeed, a strong sense of focus, a natural leader, and of a goal setter.
National Games of India
- About:
- The genesis of the National Games is in the Olympic movement, which gathered momentum in the country in the 1920’s. The need to identify national talent that could be picked for the Olympic Games, prompted the initiation of the National Games.
- The first edition of the Indian Olympic Games at Lahore in an undivided Punjab in 1924.
- The city of Lucknow hosted the National Games in its first post-independence avatar while the first National Games on the lines of the Olympics were held in 1985 in New Delhi.
- Jurisdiction:
- The duration and the regulations of the National Games are entirely within the jurisdiction of the Indian Olympic Association.
- Significance:
- The National Games provide young athletes an opportunity to get a feel of a multi-discipline Games and compete with world-class athletes.
- India can use the soft power of sports for the country’s overall development while for the athletes, the National Games offers a stepping stone to greater progress.
- It provides a platform in identifying grassroot-level talent and to give a larger platform to sporting talent from the states.
Source: TH
