NATIONAL GAMES

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 culmination of the efforts of Dr A. G. Noehren and Harry Crowe Buck to assimilate and channel the energy of the youth through a pan-India sporting event led to the launch of the 1st edition of the Indian Olympic Games at Lahore in an undivided Punjab in 1924. The first three editions were all held in the city of Lahore. After the eighth edition in 1938 in Calcutta, the event was christened as the National Games. 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.

The duration and the regulations of the National Games are entirely within the jurisdiction of the Indian Olympic Association. Notwithstanding the frequent periods of stresses and strains, the Olympic Movement has not lost its sheen or vigour. On the contrary, it is strengthening thanks to the involvement of the state governments across the country in creating sophisticated state-of-the-art infrastructure in centres like Guwahati, Ranchi, Kerala and now Goa.

  • 1924

    I Indian Olympic Games, LAHORE

  • 1926

    II Indian Olympic Games, LAHORE

  • 1928

    III Indian Olympic Games, LAHORE

  • 1930

    IV Indian Olympic Games, ALLAHABAD

  • 1932

    V Indian Olympic Games, MADRAS

  • 1934

    VI Indian Olympic Games, NEW DELHI

  • 1936

    VII Indian Olympic Games, LAHORE

  • 1938

    VIII Indian Olympic Games, CALCUTTA

  • 1940

    IX National Games, BOMBAY

  • 1942

    X National Games, PATIALA

  • 1944

    XI National Games, LAHORE

  • 1946

    XII National Games, LAHORE

  • 1948

    XIII National Games, LUCKNOW

  • 1952

    XIV National Games, MADRAS

  • 1953

    XV National Games, JABALPUR

  • 1954

    XVI National Games, NEW DELHI

  • 1956

    XVII National Games, PATIALA

  • 1958

    XVIII National Games, CUTTAK

  • 1960

    XIX National Games, NEW DELHI

  • 1962

    XX National Games, JABALPUR

  • 1964

    XXI National Games, CALCUTTA

  • 1966

    XXII National Games, BANGALORE

  • 1968

    XXIII National Games, MADRAS

  • 1970

    XXIV National Games, CUTTAK

  • 1979

    XXV National Games, HYDERABAD

  • 1985

    XXVI National Games, NEW DELHI

  • 1987

    XXVII National Games, KERALA

  • 1994

    XXVIII National Games, MAHARASTHRA

  • 1997

    XXIX National Games, KARNATAKA

  • 1999

    XXX National Games, MANIPUR

  • 2001

    XXXI National Games, PUNJAB

  • 2002

    XXXII National Games, HYDERABAD

  • 2007

    XXXIII National Games , GUWAHATI

  • 2011

    XXXIV National Games, RANCHI

  • 2015

    XXXV National Games , KERALA

  • 2020

    XXXVI National Games, GOA

  • 2021

    XXXVII National Games, CHATTISGARH

  • 2022

    XXXVIII National Games, UTTARAKHAND

  • 2023

    XXXIX National Games, MEGHALAYA

  • 1996

    I National Winter Games, GULMARG

  • 2000

    II National Winter Games, MANALI

  • 2002

    III National Winter Games, AULI

  • 2004

    IV National Winter Games, GULMARG

  • 2008

    V National Winter Games, GULMARG