Goa ready to host National Games at moment's notice: Sports Min

Panaji, Aug 16 (IANS) Goa is ready to host the National Games at a moment's notice once the Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA) gives the nod to host the event, Goa Sports Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said on Monday.

"National Games will happen. We have the infrastructure for hosting all the 36 sporting disciplines. When the MHA gives the sanction, we will start," Ajgaonkar told reporters on the sidelines of a state government event near Panaji.

The Sports Minister also said that the only hitch which is faced by the state government as far as raising infrastructure for the major national sporting event is a project involving repairs of the swimming infrastructure at a government swimming complex in Panaji.

"The swimming pool is only an issue. The contractor has run away from the job. But we are trying to turn it around," Ajgaonkar said.

The Goa government has already spent Rs 439 crore on raising infrastructure for the proposed National Games.

Delay in completing the requisite infrastructure in Goa has been one of the reasons behind the delay in hosting the Games.

The Games were originally scheduled to be held in Goa in November 2016. After repeated delays, the Games were later scheduled to begin in October 2021, but were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.