UP to pitch for hosting 2020 National Games

Uttar Pradesh had a chance to host the National Games in 2015 when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) offered this opportunity to UP Olympic Association.

However, it remained a dream as unavoidable circumstances dashed the hopes of the UP Olympic Association as well as the sportspersons from the state.

Hopes for hosting the National Games were rekindled on Tuesday when chief minister Yogi Adityanath accepted an official request from UPOA to hold the event in 2020.

During the award distribution function on the National Sports Day, deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, who also happens to be UPOA’s vice-president, along with UPOA’s secretary-general Anandeshwar Pandey, submitted an official request to the CM in this regard.

“The CM immediately instructed sports minister Chetan Chauhan to look into the issue,” Anandeshwar Pandey told HT. “We got a positive response from the CM and hosting of National Games in UP is possible in 2020,” said Pandey, who has recently been named as IOA’s advisor for the National Games. “Even the 2015 National Games at Goa are yet to be organised, whereas the 2017 and 2018 editions have been allocated to Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. If we plan to conduct 2020 Games, we can do it properly,” he said.

Besides 2015, UP had earlier won the hosting rights for the 2009 National Games in 2005 but due to the then controversial Sports Act, the state was denied the rights and the Games were allocated to Kerala.