PANJIM: At the general assembly meeting of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Executive Director, Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) and the General Secretary of Goa Olympic Association (GOA) on Tuesday put up a brilliant case in support of Goa hosting the 36th edition of Games after which IOA agreed that Goa will host the National Games in November 2017.
A presentation on the existing sports facilities and the projects planned were presented before the council in New Delhi.
After an in-depth deliberation at the meeting that spanned for over three hours, the IOA acceded to the request of the State of Goa, taking into consideration the assurance of the State of Goa to host the National Games and decided that the 36th edition of the Games would be hosted in Goa in November 2017.
Speaking to Herald, Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA), VM Prabhudesai informed, “After a set of in-depth meetings with IOA, the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) and the General Secretary of Goa Olympic Association (GOA) put up a brilliant case in support of Goa hosting the 36th edition of Games.”
Meanwhile, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President N Ramachandran said, “IOA will be monitoring the progress of the State closely to see if Goa will be able to organize the National Games 2017.”
The IOA also confirmed that after Goa, Chhattisgarh will host the National Games in 2019. Andhra has also expressed interest in hosting the 2019 National Games as well.
The athletic track at Bambolim Stadium, running track and indoor stadium at Peddem-Mapusa, indoor stadium at Taleigao Plateau and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda are among the existing infrastructure that will be used for the Games.
Meanwhile, Goa was originally scheduled to host the National Games in 2016 and November 5-19 was identified as the dates to host the 36th edition of the National Games. However, due to the possibility of early general assembly elections, the State had requested the Indian Olympic Association to defer hosting of the Games to a later date.
