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Delivering an impact far beyond its geographical landmass, Goa celebrated the successful completion of the 37th National Games with a grand show of hospitality and a best-ever standing on the medals tally to underline their sporting prowess.
Hosting over 11,000 athletes and countless operational staff across 42 sports over a period of 22 days, Goa set the perfect stage and playing conditions for athletes to rise to the occasion and battle it out to win laurels for their respective states. True to the Indian ethos of punching above its weight despite a diminutive appearance, India's smallest state did set higher standards in hosting an event of the stature of the National Games - also known as the Mini Olympics of India - and delivering it to the expectations of all athletes and the Indian Olympic Association's lofty standards. With Goa's motto of building a haven for sun, sand, and now sports for the rest of India, the legacy of the 37th National Games will go a long way in achieving this goal and setting the standard for hosting multi-sport mega events in the country. The buzz of the games started on the 19th of October, even though the games were officially inaugurated by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on the 26th in an enthralling ceremony where the torch was handed to him by Goan windsurfer Katya Coelho and Indian hockey skipper Harmanpreet Singh. Multiple sporting events started before the opening ceremony, at various venues. The 28 venues were divided into five clusters - Panaji, Margao, Vasco, Ponda, and Mapusa giving everyone a chance to experience the mega event. Track Cycling and Golf was hosted in New Delhi. The Games also saw the addition of seven new sports -- Sqay Martial Arts, Sepak Takraw, Kalaripayattu, and Pencak Silat - make their National Games debut while Gatka, Mini-Golf, Lagori, and Rollball were held as demonstration events. The first gold medal of the games was decided in Badminton which started on the 19th with Telangana's M. Tharun and Haryana's Anupama Upadhayaya winning the individual events and the last medals of the games were decided in New Delhi with Amandeep Drall of Punjab and Yashas Chandra of Karnataka winning the individual Golf competition. A total of 1880 medals were awarded to the winners including 555 gold, 546 silver, and 779 bronze. Four gold medals in Lawn Bowls were shared as the last day of action had to be cancelled due to a wet outfield. Rowing also had a gold shared due to a photo finish. Maharashtra won the overall championships after a gap of 29 years dethroning the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) who haven't lost the Raja Bhalindra Trophy since 2007. Maharashtra topped the medal tally winning 228 medals (80 gold, 69 silver, and 79 bronze) while SSCB managed 126 medals (66 gold, 27 silver, and 33 bronze). Haryana finished third with 192 medals (62 gold, 55 silver, 75 bronze). Maharashtra were aided by some impressive performances in five sports - Mallakhamb, Modern Pentathlon, Gymnastics, Aquatics, and Pencak Silat which fetched them a total of 50 gold medals. Karnataka expectedly dominated the aquatic events with young sensations Srihari Nataraj (eight gold), Dhinidhi Desinghu (7 gold), and Nina Venkatesh (six gold) claiming the limelight. An impressive 35 National Games records were broken in Goa, all of them coming from the Athletics track and aquatics pool. The weightlifting competition saw four national records being broken. Dipali Gursale of Maharashtra broke the snatch record in 45 Kg while Chandrika Tarafdar of West Bengal broke the clean and jerk record in the same weight category. Prashant Koli of SSCB broke the national record in snatch in the 55 Kg while Phamdom Ranibala Devi of Manipur improved the national record which was in the name of Mirabai Chanu. The organizers adding the apparatus events to the Rhythmic Gymnastics program this year meant that Maharashtra's Sanyukta Kale took home five gold and a silver while Pranati Nayak, representing Odisha, bagged four gold medals in Artistic Gymnastics. Off the playing field, the highlight of the Games was rhetorical states ability to handle unseasonal heavy showers and a waste management system that got universal praise. With the National Games baton now headed to another tourist state of Uttarakhand, Indian sports and sportspersons will be keen for an encore. (ANI)
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