Natl Games medal events: IOA wants to be selective

The revival of the National Games from 2022 and the government's push to promote traditional sports across the length and breadth of the country have played a pivotal role in their resurgence at the national level.

- Avishek Roy

DEHRADUN: There is a rush amongst several such disciplines to jump on to the bandwagon as India keenly prepares to bid for the 2036 Olympics.

Be it mallakhamb, a competition highlighting flexibility, kalaripayattu, the martial arts form native to Kerala, or other indigenous events such as kho kho or yogasana—the age-old practice of yoga turned into a competitive sport—space is being made for them in the landscape of Indian and global sports.

From their low-key existence in various regions, such sports are increasingly raising the bar. The first Kho Kho World Cup was recently held in New Delhi with fanfare as 23 countries participated. The organisers were quick to announce that they are eyeing a spot for kho kho in India's roster for the 2036 Olympics. Similar pitches have been made for yogasana and mallakhamb. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has included yogasana as a demonstration sport in the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Mallakhamb—a form of aerial yoga or gymnastics—recently opened a centre in the Netherlands in its efforts to globalise the sport. In the 2036 Games pitch, kabaddi will be right up there, having established itself at the Asian level.

After mallakhamb and yogasana were included as medal sports in the 2022 Gujarat National Games, there was high demand from other regional sports to get national recognition. So much so that the 2023 Goa National Games hosted competitions in a record 43 events and included an array of games like kalaripayattu, sqay martial arts and local sports like gatka and lagori as demonstration events, with a promise of their possibly being elevated to medal sports in future editions.

This time, however, IOA has brought down the number of sports to 36 at the Uttarakhand Games, cutting down many disciplines. Kalaripayattu too has been downgraded from a competitive sport to demonstration event—a move that saw its national body even taking a legal route.