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The 2015 National Games, which is also the 35th edition of these games will kick off from today in the city of Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala. It is the second time that Kerala will play hosts after it hosted the 27th National Games in 1987. The motto of the games if “Get Set Play”.The opening ceremony of these games Kerala will be hosted at Green field stadium Karyavattam. Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar will be the goodwill ambassador for the games.A number of top Indian players will be participating in these games. The event is going to be held at seven disrticts of the state across 30 venues and will end 14th February. More than 10,000 athletes including officials will be part of this mega event.Let’s have a look at the top players who can make a mark in these games :
#5 HS Prannoy (badminton)
22-year-old Prannoy, ranked 18th in the world is surely one of the best emerging player in badminton in the country. Born in Delhi, Prannoy will represent Kerala in the National Games.
Prannoy, who won the USD 25,000 Tata Open International Challenge Badminton tournament last month will be the top seeded player in the men's singles category.
The year 2014 was a pretty decent year for the young Indian Badminton star as he won two All India Senior National Ranking Championships and was semifinalist in Indian Open Grand Prix Gold, Bitburger Open and Macau Open Grand Prix Gold.
The road to the glory will not be easy for the Kerala player as he will take on nations other top ranked players like Saurabh Verma, Gurusaidutt and B. Sai Praneeth.
#4 Preeja Sreedharan (athletics)
2010 Asian Games gold medalist in 10,000m and silver medalist in 5000m will lead the charge of the host team Kerala in the 35th National Games.
32-year-old Idukki born runner, who is also the national record holder in both 5000 and 10000m will be the hot favorite to grab the yellow metal in the games.
There will be a bit of disappointment for her fans as she has decided to quit after the games. "With the 35th National Games to be held in Kerala, I have decided to quit from athletics after the Games. I would do whatever I can for the betterment of the sports besides be with my family," Preeja said in an interview.
Preeja, who won the Arjuna Award in 2011 will face some tough competition from youngsters like Kavita, O P Jaisha and L Suriya.
#3 Saurav Ghosal (squash)
28 year old Saurav Ghoshal will play for West Bengal in the National Games starting from tomorrow. Ghoshal with the current world ranking of 24, won the silver in men’s singles individual and gold in men’s team event at the Incheon Asian Games last year.
With the silver at Asian Games, Saurav Ghosal also became the first Indian ever to enter the final round of the men’s singles at the Asian Games.
In 2013, Saurav became the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals of the World Squash Championships at Manchester, England. Hopes will be high from the Arjuna Awardee as he will be battling out with some other squash players to get get the gold for his state.
#2 Gagan Narang (shooting)
Ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang is surely one of the most celebrated names in Indian shooting. Aged 31, Narang will represent Andhra Pradesh in the 35th National Games.
Narang, who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics has represented India for the last 12 years. He won one silver and one bronze at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games last year; however he failed to make any mark at the Incheon Asian Games.
Narang added 4 gold medals to the Indian tally at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. In the men's 10 m air rifle singles event, he shot a perfect 600 which was also a new world record then.
He won the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2011. Supported by Olympic Gold Quest, Narang will surely be the favourite to win the gold medal in men’s 50m rifle prone and 50m Rifle 3 positions event.
#1 Abhishek Verma (archery)
Abhishek Verma, the 25-year-old archer from New Delhi, who won the gold medal in men's compound and silver in men's team event at the Incheon Asian Games last year is surely one of the best players to look out for at the 35th National Games.
Abhishek, who won the Arjuna Award in 2014 came into spotlight when he defeated the World Champion Choi Yonghee of Korea in the quarterfinals of men's individual compound event at the Asian Games.
He started his international career in 2005 by participating in the Archey World Championships held at Mexico. Abhishek's career started to take a boom in the year 2013 when he won three gold medals in Asian Archery Championships held in Taiwan. He also won one gold and two silvers in the Asian Grand Prix held at Thailand, Bangkok in March 2014.
Verma's future ambition is to win a medal at the Olympics. "My future aim is to win a medal in Olympics if compound archery is included. Till date the two medals in Incheon is my highest achievement but I would like to convert them into golds in 2019 Asian Games," Verma said in an interview.
