Panaji: Goa is not willing to host the National Games this year on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant here on Thursday.
Sawant said the Games, scheduled to begin on October 20, would have to be postponed indefinitely and the state government would communicate it to the Union Sports Ministry to convey to the Indian Olympic Association (IOC) about Goa’s unwillingness to host the event.
We are 100 per cent ready to host the National Games. We are proud to be hosts of the event, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic we have to postpone it, Sawant said. ‘Although Goa is a green zone, participants from all over the country will be taking part in the event,’ he said.
When asked if the Goa government would recommend an alternative date, Sawant said, ‘We can’t decide on a date right now as the Covid-19 situation is fluid.’
Failure to complete the requisite infrastructure in Goa has been one of the reasons behind the delay in the Games from November 2016 to October 2020. The last edition was held in Jharkhand in 2011.
Due to the delay, the IOC had even threatened to move the event to another state.