MARGAO: With the 36th National Games of India in Goa fast approaching, excitement is building in the State and the Government of Goa is leaving no stone unturned to make the games a huge success.
And the excitement for the Games went a notch up after Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant kick-started festivities in the State with the inauguration of the multi-purpose Indoor Stadium, Navelim which has been named after late Manohar Parrikar. Union Minister of State (independent charge) Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju was the chief guest for the function.
Multi-purpose indoor stadium at Campal, indoor stadium at Ponda, multi-purpose indoor stadium at Sawalwada, and a multi-purpose indoor stadium at Fatorda were also officially inaugurated digitally on Saturday.
To prepare for the Games, these stadiums underwent months of renovations with major work done on the exteriors as well as interiors to turn them into world-class sporting facilities. The indoor stadiums will host various sports events during the upcoming National Games, a multi-discipline sporting event.
In total, the construction and refurbishment cost for all the five stadiums is estimated to be around Rs 120 crore. Goa Government will be spending a total of Rs 750 crore to host these games in the State.
Commenting on the launch, Dr Sawant said, “All the stakeholders concerned have worked hard to get the infrastructure ready to host the National Games in Goa. With all major infrastructure work completed well in advance, we are now assured of delivering the best national games ever.”
Rijiju said, “The infrastructure created for the national games would go a long way in helping the sportspersons in the State to compete nationally and globally. The upcoming National Games in Goa would be one of the best National Games in India. I can confidently say this because Dr Sawant is very committed to making Goa a sporting State and I’m sure Goa will organise the National Games in a professional manner under his leadership. The Government of India will extend full cooperation to the Goa in organising the Games.”
Deputy Chief Minister and Sports Minister Manohar (Babu) Ajgaonkar said, “Goa government is working tirelessly to improve the sports-related infrastructure which will help in the betterment of sports in the state. Infrastructure facilities like these are the need of the hour if we have to encourage youngsters to take up sports professionally. This is just the beginning and during the next coming months a lot of progress will be made in this direction.”
The National Games will start from October 20 and conclude on November 4. Thirty-seven sports disciplines will be part of the 36th National Games of India that will be played at 24 different sports facilities across Goa.
Goa has successfully hosted several national and international sporting events like the Lusofonia Games, AFU U-16 Championship, BRICS Football Championship, FIFA U-17 World Cup, among many others in the past.
