On the sporting fields of the country, Goa’s image has taken a beating. The State’s request to postpone the National Games scheduled to be held in November this year, has been getting negative reportage in the National media. The State’s reason for seeking to postpone the Games is that the infrastructure is not ready, and there now is also the possibility that some disciplines may be held outside the State. And that’s where Goa drew some censure in the media. One daily that called it a ‘national farce’ since five key events could possibly be moved out of the State started its report saying, “What is the point of naming a venue as the host of the National Games if five key sports events can’t be held there due to lack of preparedness?”
Indeed, if infrastructure is not ready, and if five events are held outside the State, can Goa claim host status? Here is a farce in the making.
While it is not confirmed, with the opening date of the National Games about five months away, it is now almost certain that they will be postponed or event shifted. Sports Minister Manohar Azgaonkar had told Herald they are only awaiting written confirmation of postponement, after the presentation made to the Indian Olympic Association last week. But, IOA is not too keen on the postponement as this take the Games to February 2019 and would disrupt the schedule of the Games already planned. IOA, in an attempt to have the Games as scheduled, is considering shifting some disciplines to other States. There are reports that shooting, cycling, kayaking & canoeing, hockey and tennis will be held outside the State. But it is not just these sports, the infrastructure for other events is also not yet ready.
Postponement or shifting of disciplines, either way Goa shows that it has not prepared for a sporting event that it had undertaken to host, and that puts the State in a bad light. While there are excuses proffered of infrastructural problems or ‘technical delays’ as the Minister put it, and the upcoming monsoon, it is clear that all the stadia and grounds have not been built. Work on the hockey ground has still not been started, and they cycling velodrome at Fatorda is unlikely to be ready even if the Games are postponed. This is an example of Goa falling by the wayside in holding sporting events.
Remember the Lusofonia Games held in 2014? The Games were to be held in November 2013, but were postponed because the infrastructure was not ready. This is the second time in recent years that a major sporting event in the State will be postponed because the infrastructure is not ready. Obviously, there has been no lesson learnt from that mismanagement, for if there had, this would not have occurred.
The State’s sports administrators should understand that the dates for the National Games are set keeping in mind other sporting events in the country and internationally. Postponing will not just affect the schedule of the other Games, but could also lead to diminished participation as athletes could be busy with other events, or even preparing for other sporting contests. These are the National Games, supposedly the country’s biggest sporting event, where the best in the various fields will be competing. Goa as host State should have taken up the preparation for the event with pride.
To rebuild Goa’s image the only thing that can be said is ‘stop the farce’ and get the stadia ready. This is a fiasco in the making that will only further hurt Goa and its image. Don’t give the rest of the country an opportunity to call Goans laidback or as sometimes Goans themselves say, sussegad. That we are not, so there is no reason to draw censure upon ourselves.
