National Games 2023 scheduled to be held in Goa from Oct. 25 to Nov. 9

The National Games in Goa will have a record number of disciplines in its programme

The National Games 2023 will be held in Goa from October 25 to November 9, the state’s sports minister Govind Gaude confirmed on Friday.

The technical committee of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had tentatively announced the dates for the 37th edition of the National Games late in June pending confirmation of the daily schedule. The dates have now been ratified.

The National Games are India’s homespun Olympic-style multi-sport event where athletes from the various states and Union Territories compete for medals.

Several prominent Indian athletes like Neeraj Chopra, Sania Mirza, Mirabai Chanu, Sajan Prakash and Manu Bhaker among others have participated in the National Games.

This will be the first time Goa will host the National Games. Goa was awarded the hosting rights for the 36th edition, initially scheduled for 2016. However, after multiple postponements, the marquee event was hosted by Gujarat last year.

The National Games were first held in Lahore, undivided India, in 1924 and were known as the Indian Olympic Games until 1938.

This year’s National Games will have a record number of 43 sports, including Olympic and indigenous sports. Last year, over 7,000 athletes featured in 36 sports. Kho Kho, yogasana and mallakhamb made their National Games debut.

The Services Sports Control Board, the team representing the Indian Armed Forces, became the National Games champions in Gujarat last year with 128 medals, including 61 golds. Maharashtra followed with 140 medals which included 39 gold medals, narrowly ahead of Haryana’s 38 gold medals from an overall tally of 116.