The 2015 National Games of India, also known as the 35th National Games of India and informally as Kerala 2015,[1] was a national multi-sport event held from 31 January 2015 to 14 February 2015 across seven districts of Kerala, India.[2] It was the second time that Kerala hosted the national games, the first being when it hosted the 27th National Games in 1987.[3] An estimated total of 11,641 athletes from 37 teams participated in 405 events in 33 sports.[4][5]
The opening ceremony took place at Greenfield Stadium, on 31 January 2015 at 6.00 PM. Union Minister of Urban Development, Shri Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the opening ceremony.
Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was selected as the goodwill ambassador for the games.[6]
Mascot
Ammu, the great hornbill.
Ammu, the Great Hornbill (the state bird of Kerala) was chosen as the mascot, reflecting a concern for conservation as this is a species facing extinction. It is also an expression of the need to preserve Kerala's rain forests and regenerate the lost habitat of this precious bird. The choice of a feminine name for the mascot is a tribute to the women of Kerala.[citation needed]
Games Village
The Games Village is constructed based on the novel concept of prefabricated housing technology. The prefabricated housing would go well with the concept of Green Games as it is environmentally friendly, lightweight, energy efficient and faster to construct. One major advantage of this technology is that the individual housing units can be dismantled and relocated to other locations after the Games with additional cost in the form of steel Flashing / trims, civil foundation, internal electrification and plumbing, hardware, floor finish, wall cladding etc.
A total of 365 pre-fab houses occupying 5 athletes per room while team officials and coaches will be allocated single or double rooms. Social infrastructures such as kitchen, food courts, reception desks, medical centre, recreational zone, health club, open-air theatre, conference halls etc. are included in the Games Village. Apart from these, it also has house-keeping, solid waste management, security, clean water distribution facilities and even landscaping.
The Games Village is a ‘miniature India' as this venue is supposed to be the most vocal and visual representation of India's national integration at the Games.
There are 33 sports disciplines in 2015 Kerala Games.[8] Yachting is a newly included event. Aquatics (50 disciplines) and athletics (44 disciplines) were the biggest and most popular events in Kerala Games 2015; shooting (38 disciplines) became another big event.
A total of 1334 medals (405 gold, 406 silver and 523 bronze) were awarded.[14]Athletics, swimming, shooting, canoeing and kayaking, wrestling, cycling, and gymnastics accounted for almost half of the total medals awarded.[14] The Services topped the medal table for a consecutive third time, having collected 91 gold medals.[10][15] The host state, Kerala, secured the second position with 54 gold medals; it also secured the most silver medals (48), the most bronze medals (60), and the most medals overall (162).[10]Haryana athletes claimed 107 medals in total (including 40 gold), earning third spot on the table.[10]
Services' Jitu Rai won three gold and one bronze medal in shooting.
The ranking in this table is consistent with Indian Olympic Association convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a team have won. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next, followed by the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given; they are listed alphabetically.
The total number of bronze medals is greater than the total number of gold or silver medals because two bronze medals were awarded per event in twelve sports: badminton, boxing, fencing, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, lawn bowls, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wrestling and wushu (in seven events out of fifteen).[14] In the women's high jump event of athletics, a tie for the second position between two athletes from West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh meant that two silver medals (and no bronze) were awarded.[16]
The 2015 National Games was associated with green protocols.[17] This was initiated by Suchitwa Mission, aiming for "zero-waste" venues. Waste Management programmes were implemented at all 29 venues. To make the event "disposable-free", a ban on the use of disposable water bottles was enforced.[18] The event witnessed the usage of reusable tableware and stainless steel tumblers.[19] Athletes were provided with refillable steel flasks.[20] It is estimated that these green practices prevented the generation of about 120 metric tonnes of disposable waste.[21] Suchitwa Mission requested the help of volunteers to achieve the green objectives,[22] and the service of these 700 volunteers to achieve the green objectives were applauded by the Chief Minister.[23]
References
↑ "Mission". 2015 National Games of India. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
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