Jharkhand Governor M O H Farooq has declared opened the 34th National Games at Birsa Munda stadium in Ranchi this evening. High Court Chief Justice Bhagwati Prasad, Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay and IOA President Suresh Kalmadi, besides other dignitaries were present on the occasion. More than 10 thousands sports persons and sports officials and 22 thousand spectators were present in the stadium. The National Games torch was lit by Jharkhand star archer Deepika Kumari. In his opening statement, the Governor said that the Jharkhand could create a world class infrastructure only out of love for sports, while the state Chief Minister Arjun Munda said that they should forget the past mistakes to celebrate the future. The opening ceremony was started with traditional tribal 'Akhara Puja'.The Games will see about eleven thousand participants, including around 8,500 athletes vying for top honours in 33 events. Dhanbad and Jamshedpur are the other two centres which will host the multi-discipline competition.