PANAJI
The 37th National Games got off to a spectacular start with Prime Minister officially inaugurating the multi-sport event at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Fatorda on Thursday.
Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and windsurfer Katya Ida Coelho carried the torch to the prime minister, who was welcomed with a thunderous applause from the capacity crowd at the stadium.
The Prime Minister later took a lap across the stadium in a decorated vehicle along with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and State BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade amid loud cheers from the crowd.
The spectacular five-hour programme included 600 artistes who performed at the massive sporting arena.
The opening ceremony kicked off with singer Hema Sardesai belting out popular Hindi numbers to enthuse the crowd while Sukhwinder Singh also mesmerized the audience with his song Chak de India at the stadium.
The cultural show with different folk dances depicting different cultures of the country including that of Goa was delight to watch.
The five minutes of fireworks was the icing on the cake with the glittering show holding the audience spell-bound.
The neon lights too provided the much needed glitter and welcomed the enthusiastic fans.
Earlier, excitement built up around the stadium hours ahead of the opening ceremony with hundreds of enthusiasts lining up at the stadium gates.
However, the upbeat mood soon nose-dived as a number of sports lovers could not get entry to the glittering ceremony despite having passes.
Police were however, considerate to allow some senior citizens and young children as a special gesture.
Goa is hosting the Games for the first time. The State is divided into six clusters -- Panaji, Campal, Mapusa, Margao, Vasco and Ponda -- each under supervision of the Superintendent of Police (SP). Each cluster will have independent accommodation, catering and transport arrangements.
Over 10,000 Indian athletes will compete across 42 disciplines, making this edition the biggest in history.
