PANJIM: The Savalvada indoor stadium at Pernem, which was inaugurated three years ago by Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant alongwith the then Sports Minister Babu Ajgaokar, may not be able to host the weightlifting event in the 37th National Games to be held in October-November.
Presently, the stadium, which is close to the new airport, has been allotted to GMR, who have developed the new Mopa Airport under GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited (GAL). It is fully occupied by them.
The weightlifting event was scheduled originally to be held at Savalvada stadium. The other problem is that the stadium has a wooden flooring, which is not suited at all for weightlifting which needs a concrete surface. The IOA Treasurer, Sahdev Yadav, who happens to be the President of Weightlifting Federation of India and is part of the IOA delegation in Goa, for inspecting the venues, is certainly aware of the situation and in such a scenario a temporary arrangement could be worked out with a metal kind of flooring. Or the original venue for weightlifting will have to be shifted.
It is interesting to note that Sports Minister Govind Gaude, who highlighted that technical inspections in each discipline would now follow, said: “Even if a venue is not upto the mark for the technical team, then the Goa Government has the capability to provide an alternate facility as we have enough infrastructure to host the Games.”
The stadium was meant for the locals interested in weightlifting and kabaddi.
