The National Games 2025 is currently being held in 11 cities across 8 districts of Uttarakhand with the motto of “Sankalp Se Shikhar Tak” and is now approaching its business end after a commendable show from various athletes hailing from across India. In this edition, the games featured 33 medal sports and 2 demonstration events.
“We are creating more and more opportunities for our athletes so they can enhance their potential to the fullest,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating the 38th edition of the National Games in Dehradun on 28th January.
Uttarakhand is hosting the games for the first time ever across four venues including Dehradun, Haldwani, Haridwar and Roshnabad Stadiums. The official mascot for the National Games is the Himalayan Monal bird “Mauli”, which portrays Uttarakhand’s cultural heritage and rich biodiversity.
The games this year is willing to create a strong impact on the society with the theme of “Green Games”. A special park will be developed after the conclusion of the games on 14th February, focusing on environmental sustainability and will be named as the Sports Forest, where athletes and guests will plant more than 10,000 saplings, including one after the name of each medal winner.
The medals and certificates given to the athletes have been made by using environment-friendly and biodegradable materials. The purpose of this initiative is to create a memorial, as well as to pay tribute to the games and the athletes who participated in it.
In this edition, over 10,000 athletes from 28 states, 8 Union Territories, and the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB)- a team that combines athletes from the Indian Navy, Army and Air Force, are competing to showcase their athletic brilliance.
In this multi-sport event, generally the medal tally toppers are declared as the champions. Since the game was revived in 1985, the Services has won four times, the most by any team. Defending champion Maharashtra is a three-time winner. As on February 11, Services is leading the medal tally with a total of 97 medals including 54 gold, 22 silver and 21 bronze medals.
The National Games 2025 has featured some top Indian Olympic medalists including boxer Lovlina Borgohain, shooter Swapnil Kusale, Sarabjot Singh and Vijay Kumar. Some other renowned players like Sift Kaur Samra, Saurabh Chaudhary, Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, Ancy Sojan, Parul Chaudhary, Amoj Jacob, Jyothi Yarraji have also taken part in the games.
But among this star-studded list, Jonathon Anthony, a fifteen-year-old boy from Karnataka has made the headlines by overcoming the challenges posed by Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary in the qualification round to eventually defeat recent Olympic medallist Sarabjot Singh with a score of 240.7 in the Men’s 10M Pistol final.
“I’m thrilled with this win. Competing against such talented shooters who have represented India at the highest level makes this victory even more meaningful. Today was my day and I’m proud of how it all came together”, said Anthony after bagging the gold medal.
Karnataka’s 14-year-old swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu has grabbed a total of 11 medals including 9 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze on her way to breaking three records in the National Games this year.
“I started swimming at the age of seven. My parents became my biggest inspiration. My coaches and teammates have always motivated me to push my limits. Setting a new National Games record is a proud moment for me and I hope to continue improving my performance”, the Olympian expressed while hoping to get more such opportunities in the future which will be helpful to improve the sporting landscape of the country.
The young badminton sensation Anmol Kharb has also clinched the gold medal by defeating top seed Anupama Upadhyay in straight sets. The 18-year-old shuttler from Haryana who played a significant role in the Indian Women’s Badminton Asia Team Championships victory last year, won the match with the scores of 21-16, 22-20.
Besides new talents, seasoned players have also risen to the occasion to shine on the biggest national stage as Assam’s boxer Lovlina Borgohain clinched gold in her first competition since the Paris Olympics 2024. The Olympic bronze medallist from Tokyo dominated the match to win unanimously over Chandigarh’s Pranshu Rathode.
Four-time Olympian and ace archer Deepika Kumari has also secured an individual gold along with a silver in the recurve women’s team and a bronze in the recurve mixed team event. Fellow archer Dhiraj Bommadevara won a bronze medal for the SSCB in the recurve men’s team category.
