Lucknow hosted 1st Nat'l Games, urgeYogi to bring it back to city: Rajnath

Lucknow: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said Lucknow hosted India's first National Games in 1948 and urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to bring the next edition of the sporting event back to the state capital.

After inaugurating the Sansad Khel Mahakumbh at KD Singh Babu stadium in Lucknow, Singh said, "It's been more than 75-years since Lucknow hosted national games. It was the first city in the country post-independence to organise national games, therefore the time has come to prepare the city once again to host the national games."

Singh, who is Lucknow MP, praised the city's sporting legacy and recalled the contribution of its hockey wizards KD Singh Babu and Dhyan Chand. He said India's first astro turf was laid at the Sports College in Lucknow in the 1980s.

The minister discussed the transformation of cricket events in Lucknow, from the Sheesh Mahal cricket tournament at KD Singh Babu Stadium to present-day IPL fixtures at Ekana stadium. He said UP's and Lucknow's development directly correlate with India's progress.

Referring to the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius", Singh expressed confidence in the Khel Mahakumbh's potential to nurture future medallists from Lucknow at national and international competitions.

He said the central govt's Khelo India initiative is nurturing and supporting thousands of athletes across nearly 1,000 centres, including monthly assistance of Rs 50,000 to over 3,000 players for training.

Praising PM Narendra Modi's leadership in fostering a new sporting culture, the minister said Indian athletes are now taken seriously on the global stage. He acknowledged that parents now aspire for their children to emulate sports icons like Leander Paes, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, PV Sindhu, Gukesh and Neeraj Chopra.

"We take sports very seriously. Today our govt is making every effort to organise the Olympic Games in 2036 in Gujarat, while efforts are also being made to host other world-class games in India," he said.

Quoting the adage ‘Kheloge kudoge hoge kharab, padhoge, likhoge to banoge nawab', Singh said society's perception towards sports has changed from considering it a time-wasting activity to that of a valuable asset.