The National Games: A missed opportunity for some sports
By Shakya Mitra
Director-Projects
Confederation of Sports and Recreation Industry
The National Games are getting underway this week with the Table Tennis competition before the Opening Ceremony on September 29. Given that it’s taking place after seven years, there is a lot to look forward for sports fans across the country who will get to see the best talent in action.
A lot has happened in the seven years since the last time the National Games were held in 2015 in Kerala. India has shown considerable improvement in performances at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other international tournaments and there has been a general positive aura around Indian sports. In between the Central Government began their own multi-disciplinary event for Under-21 athletes, the Khelo India Youth Games, an inter-state competition which was effectively a National Games for Under-21 athletes. It was followed soon after with the Khelo India University Games.
Though seven years is a long time under any circumstance but there could be reasons beyond just sporting for it to be taking place now. The Games were originally meant to be held in Goa, at short notice with Goa backing off, the Gujarat Government has taken over the hosting responsibility. While it happens to be the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, there is the bigger objective of trying to showcase itself as a prospective host (the capital Ahmedabad that is) for the Olympics in the future, perhaps as early as 2036. But that apart, there is hope that these National Games will bring a feel-good atmosphere back into Indian sport. One of the biggest reasons why these Games could bring positivity back into Indian sport is the impact of Covid and the suspension of sporting events for a long time which has held back the development of sports especially at the grassroots level. This puts the athlete especially the ones who don’t get the chance to represent India at the international level, as the biggest gainer in the National Games being held.
That said, the organisers might have missed a trick in the choice of sports in this edition. At the heart of Indian sports development, especially at the highest level, two of the primary objectives should be creating a bigger base of athletes in every sport and second, to strengthen our resources across a variety of sports rather than focussing on 6-7 priority sports. Eventually a country’s sporting reputation comes down to performances at the Olympics, though India did decently at the Tokyo Olympics, we won medals in six sports and there were two others i.e. Shooting and Archery where we had medal contenders. Had India performed up to expectation, there was a good chance of entering double digits for the first time. However what’s happened has happened and there is no point in introspecting on that but one way India can improve their overall medal prospects at the Olympics is to create a wider base of sports from where they can win medals. While focussing on 7-8 sports can earn a country 15-20 medals at the Olympics, history shows that this approach doesn’t work in India because the maximum that India has earned from any sport at a single Olympics is two. This is why it is imperative that we start looking at the Olympics in multiple sports beyond just participating but also putting our best foot forward. This is not to suggest that we forget to maximise our efforts in priority sports but past editions show that it has almost never worked.
Looking at the list of sports that are a part of the National Games, sports that are a part of the 2024 Olympic programme such as Sailing, Equestrian, Surfing, Sport Climbing, Break dance among others are absent from the National Games programme. It might be understandable why sports such as Sailing and Surfing may not figure as these depend on certain water conditions which the host state may not be able to provide. However much like Cycling which will be taking place from Delhi, the organisers could have found a way of moving these two sports to another venue which would offer the right water and weather conditions. Similarly with Sport Climbing and Break Dance which are newly-introduced Olympic sports (the latter will debut in 2024), the National Games was a perfect opportunity to scout the talent which can hopefully represent India in the years to come. This comes across as a big missed opportunity by the organisers and Indian sport as this could have provided the base for talent in these sports for not just the 2024 Olympics but also the 2028 and 2032 Olympics. Athletes in sports like Sailing and Equestrian rarely get an opportunity to be noticed and the National Games would have been perfect for them. It would also have helped in creating better competition in the sport.
On the contrary, a number of indigenous sports which are not a part of the Olympics such as Kabaddi, Kho Kho, Mallakhamb and Yogasana will be a part of the National Games. This was also the case during the Khelo India Youth Games as well. While there is nothing wrong with the inclusion of indigenous sports, there should be a healthy balance between sports providing national integrity and what is good for India’s Olympic prospects. Given that there are 36 sports which are going to be a part of the National Games, there would have been no harm in adding a few more sports in India’s best interests keeping the Olympics in mind.
That said, one does hope that going forward the National Games become the once every two years event that they used to be and a space where all games are played. It is appreciable that the Gujarat Government has taken over the hosting of the event at such short notice and bringing the National Games back for India. We wish them good luck in making it a grand success.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are his personal views and may not represent those of CSRI