PANJIM: The athletic track at Bambolim needs to be relaid for hosting the athletic events at the forthcoming 37th National Games to be held in October-November. This was the specific verdict of both, the Technical Committee of IOA, which inspected the venue recently, as well as well as the Goa Athletic Association, which uses it on a regular basis.
“The track, which was laid for the Lusofonia Games in 2017, has to be re-laid and this would happen by May. It would take a minimum of two months for completion of the work. It would cost about Rs 8 to 10 crores,” stated Mr Paresh Kamat, General Secretary, Goa Athletic Association.
“I had pointed out about the vital need to water the track on regular basis, but this did not happen and consequently, the track has deteriorated. Proper maintenance is vital. There is provision for watering the grass of the football field, but no specific water points for the track. The failure in watering it on regular basis resulted in poor maintenance which led to the formation of bubbles, thus necessitating relaying,” added Paresh.
Talking about the medal prospects in athletics at the Games, Paresh stated that the proposal for organising the coaching camp was already submitted to SAG and that athletes from the Army could be the possible medal winners. “We will finalise everything about the camp shortly after the meeting of the Association,” remarked the official.
“One can only hope for the best. Goa would certainly not like to go the way of 1976 Montreal Olympics held in that city. It holds the dubious record of being the only Games where the hosts failed to win a single medal,” remarked Paresh.
