According to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Ahmedabad would soon be transformed into the largest sports city in the world.

The National Games will be held in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Bhavnagar, six cities in the state, from September 29 to October 12.

Speaking at the unveiling function of the anthem and mascot for the 36th National Games at the EKA Arena, TransStadia here in Ahmedabad, Shah, said: “Ten years ago, when Modiji was the Chief Minister here, he started the Khel Mahakumbh. At that time Gujarat was nowhere in sports on the global map.
“Now, we have the Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, and very soon we will have the world’s biggest sports city too,” Shah said, addressing over 10,000 people at the majestic venue.

The Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel and the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Thakur were among the influential attendees at the magnificent Curtain-Function, which was presided over by the Home Minister, who is also the MP for Gandhi Nagar. The largest athletic spectacle in the nation will take place in six Gujarati cities from September 29 to October 12.

“Once upon a time, we Gujjus were mostly seen as just businessmen. But Modiji started Khel Mahakumbh 11 years back and that event has become so big that as many as 55 lakh youngsters took part in this edition. We even offered a whopping Rs 29 crore as prize money to the winners,” Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said.

“We are delighted that the National Games are back after 7 years and this will one will be the biggest and grandest ever,” Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said.

“It normally takes years to organise an event of this scale but Gujarat did this in less than three months. It is all thanks to the efforts of the CM, with IOA supporting our initiative in a big way. Over 12,000 athletes, officials and support stage will enjoy not only the sporting extravaganza but also the garba here,” he added.

Rajeev Mehta, secretary general of the IOA, and Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Gujarat’s minister for sports, were among the prominent dignitaries in attendance. Kiritkumar J. Parmar (Ahmedabad), Hemali Boghawala (Surat), Keyur Rokadiya (Vadodara), Pradip Dav (Rajkot), Kirti Danidhariya (Bhavnagar), and Hitesh Makwana (Gandhinagar) were among the mayors of the six host cities who were there.

A short time before the mascot’s debut, the winners of the Khel Mahakumbh, including the state’s top 3 schools, districts, and municipal corporations, were honoured.

The mascot, appropriately named Saavaj (lion in Gujarati), stands for India’s cultural history and offers a glimpse of a quickly developing India that is poised to once again lead the world.

Bollywood superstar singer Sukhwinder Singh has performed the hymn for the Games, which encapsulates the Judega India, Jitega India ideology.

The national sports festival’s theme song’s lyrics encourage the nation’s young to unite and conquer iconic locations like the Statue of Unity and Sabarmati. The theme song, which is embellished with stunning sporting sceneries, portrays the essence of how players overcome obstacles to succeed.

(Inputs from IANS)