The 37th edition of the National Games 2023, India's own multi-sport event inspired by the Olympics, is in full swing in five vibrant Goan cities: Mapusa, Margao, Panjim, Ponda, and Vasco.
At the moment, Maharashtra is leading the medal tally with an impressive total of 162 medals, including 60 gold, 49 silver, and 53 bronze. The defending champions, Services Sport Control Board, currently hold the second position with 66 medals, 38 of which are gold. Haryana has maintained its third position in the medal tally, accumulating a total of 89 medals, including 31 gold medals.
The competition is fierce, with 28 teams having clinched at least one gold medal so far.
This year's event is featuring athletes from 28 states, eight Union Territories, and the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB). The National Games 2023, which will conclude on November 9, boasts a total of 10,000 athletes, a significant increase from the previous edition held in Gujarat, making it a grand showcase of Indian sporting talent.
The National Games 2023 is covering a wide spectrum of sports, encompassing traditional Olympic disciplines as well as indigenous sports such as mallakhamb, kho kho, and kabaddi. This year's edition introduced some new sports, including Sqay martial arts, rollball, sepaktakraw, kalaripayattu, pencak silat, and mini golf. Yachting and taekwondo, which were excluded in the previous edition in Gujarat, make a comeback in Goa.
Services are the reigning champions, emerging victorious four times in the National Games, with wins in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2022. In the 2022 edition, Services claimed the title with an impressive haul of 128 medals, consisting of 61 golds, 35 silvers, and 32 bronze medals. Notably, 29 teams secured at least one gold medal in the 2022 edition.
The National Games 2023, which are happening in Goa for the first time, feature a diverse array of sports, including aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, beach handball, beach football, billiards and snooker, boxing, canoeing, cycling, fencing, football, gatka, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kalaripayattu, kho-kho, lagori, lawn bowls, lawn tennis, mallakhamb, mini golf, modern pentathlon, netball, pencak silat, roll ball, rowing, rugby, sepaktakraw, shooting, squay martial arts, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu, yachting, and yogasana. It's a celebration of sports and culture that showcases the diverse talents of Indian athletes.
