PANJIM: Minister for Sports and Youth affairs Govind Gaude said, “We need minimum six-seven months, till December 2022, as preparation time towards organising a national event in the State.”
“The national events require proper infrastructure, which we do not possess at this point of time,” Gaude said, while adding that “These are not the excuses, but the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs needs time to renovate the sports infrastructure and put the things in place.”
Stating that they do not have enough time to prepare for National Games, the sports minister said, “The Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs has not received any official directive from the Central Ministry regarding organising the National Games in Goa.”
“The Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs will always be happy to host the national event but at present we are not ready,” he added.
Speaking to mediapersons, Gaude said, “Organising a national event is not an easy task and requires full-fledged preparation in terms of infrastructure development and other. The National Games of India comprises various disciplines in which sportsmen from the different States across the country compete against each other. We don’t want participants across the country to come to Goa and suffer due to lack of facilities.”
