National Games 2022: Mallakhamb and Yogasana among 5 new sports

The National Games are returning after a gap of seven years. The 36th edition of the sporting spectacle will be held in Gujarat from 27 September to 10 October and will have a total of 37 sports.

Among these 37 sports, five will be played at the National Games for the first time. Two indigenous sports, Mallakhamba and Yogasana, along with Skateboarding, Golf and Soft Tennis will make their debut at National Games 2022.

Let us look at the new sports at National Games 2022:

Mallakhamb- Originating from the Indian subcontinent, Mallakhamba is display of aerial yoga or gymnastic postures and wrestling grips with a vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole performed by a gymnast.

To turn this traditional art into a modern sports event, the rules and points system has been standardised, with a player judged on a scale of 10 points, just like in gymnastics.

The sport made its debut at the Khelo India University Games earlier this year. Madhya Pradesh bagged the overall trophy there by winning 12 medals including 5 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals in Mallakhamb.

Yogasana- Yogasana was recognised as a competitive sport in 2020 by the Indian government with the purpose of building more interest towards yoga.

It debuted in the Khelo India University Games earlier this year and was instant hit among the spectators given the flexibility of participants and the yoga moves over a peppy tune.

Yogasana is divided in three categories- Artistic, Traditional and Rhythmic.

Artistic yogasana is similar to artistic gymnastics. Athletes have to perform postures for three minutes while synchronising their performance to music.

While the focus is on balance and stability, the traditional yogasana event calls for participants to hold their postures for 15 or 30 seconds, depending on the asana.

Rhythmic yogasana has participants in pairs and groups of five. The participants must hold each posture for five to seven seconds as they move through the asanas in unison. Points are also given for a seamless change in stance.

Skateboarding- The extreme sport of skateboarding, which is action-packed and defies gravity, received a lot of attention during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after its debut.

Young athletes as young as 13 years old were spotted performing mind-blowing acrobatics, flying through the air with their boards, and balancing perfectly while sliding down rails.

This exciting sports will make its debut at the 36th National Games 2022.

Golf- A familiar sport to Indians, Golf will seen for the first time at National Games.

Aditi Ashok finished 4th last year at Olympics which led to the event grabbing more eyeballs for Indian fans and it is included this time in National Games.

Soft Tennis- Similar to lawn tennis in many ways, soft tennis is played using a softer ball as compared to the hard yellow ball used in lawn tennis.

The game's birthplace was Japan, where a softball was preferred to a tougher one. The sport has recently gained some popularity in Europe and is currently huge in Asia.

It will be seen as a medal sport at the upcoming National Games.