Except for shooting, a major Olympic sport, most of the top stars in other disciplines will give the National Games a miss.
Most of the established stars will be missing in action but thousands of up and coming ones, will get the platform to make a mark in 32 disciplines when the 38th National Games, spread over seven venues in the hill state, begin in Dehradun on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will declare the Games open at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at the official opening ceremony to kick-start the 18-day national showpiece, which will see participation of around 10,000 athletes and officials from 38 teams.
In terms of sheer number of athletes, the event is among the biggest in the world, though its relevance in the country's international success has been debatable.
This time, the Games will be held in seven cities of Uttarakhand with Dehradun being the main venue.
The other venues of the Games, which will continue till February 14, are Haridwar, Nainital, Haldwani, Rudrapur, Shivpuri and New Tehri.
The last edition in Goa in 2023 saw competitions held in five cities.
Hosting the National Game holds a special significance for Uttarakhand as the state is celebrating the 25th year of its creation.
'Mauli', inspired by Uttarakhand's state bird 'Monal', is the Games mascot, symbolising the region's unique natural beauty, diversity and cultural heritage.
The Games will feature all the top Olympic sports like athletics, swimming, shooting, wrestling, badminton, hockey, boxing, weightlifting, football, tennis and table tennis. Alongside, some traditional games like kabaddi and kho kho will also be making an appearance.
Four sports -- kalarippayattu, yogasana, mallakhambh and rafting -- will be demonstration (non-medal) sports.
Except for shooting, a major Olympic sport, most of the top stars in other disciplines are skipping the National Games due to various reasons.
All the shooters, who competed in the Paris Games last year, with the exception of double-medallist Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh, will be in action at the National Games.
Swapnil Kusale, Sarabjot Singh and Vijay Kumar will be among the Olympic medallists at the Games, while former air rifle world champion Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil will represent his home state of Maharashtra.
In total, 364 shooters will represent 29 teams at the National Games, making shooting the star attraction of the Games.
World Champion and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain and national record holder in 100m hurdles Jyoti Yarraji are among the other big names who will compete at the Games.
However, top track and field athletes, including double Olympic-medallist Neeraj Chopra, are set to miss the Games as it's early in the season and they need to peak during the World Championships in Japan in September.
Maharashtra topped the medals tally in the last edition held in Goa in 2023, and they have named a huge athletes' contingent of over 600, hoping to retain the top spot this time as well.
"We are hoping to top the medal tally and win more than 200 medals this time also. More than 600 athletes are representing our state and there will be around 150 support staff and officials," Maharashtra Olympic Association Secretary General Namdev Shirgaonkar told PTI.
Maharashtra won 230 medals (82 gold, 68 silver, 80 bronze) in the last edition, followed by Services, who won 124 medals (65 gold, 27 silver, 32 bronze). Services had emerged as the top team in the 2022 edition in Gujarat, winning 128 medals, including 61 gold.
The staging of three National Games in the span of three years marked the revival of the multi-sport event after a long hiatus.
Before the 2022 edition in Gujarat, which was postponed several times due to delay in infrastructure preparedness, Kerala hosted the National Games in 2015.
Meghalaya is set to host the next National Games and the announcement is likely to come in the coming months.
Not among the leading sporting state in the country, hosts Uttarakhand would hope to put up a strong performance and promote itself as a hub for sports.
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