IOA to take final call on Goa National Games scheduling issues

A crucial Executive Council meeting of the Indian Olympic Association here tomorrow will take a final call on whether Goa will host the National Games as per schedule, while giving an official stamp to its proposal to bid for major multi-sporting events, including the 2032 Olympics.

Goa was pencilled in to host the National Games from November 4 to 18 but there were reports of further delays in building necessary infrastructure to host major disciplines, putting a question mark on the multi-sporting event happening as per schedule.

According to IOA sources, construction of the venue for shooting events has not yet started and it may be held at a different city. The Executive Council will take a decision on that.

"The Goa National Games organisers will make a presentation in front of the Executive Council and we will see how prepared they are to host the Games in November," a top IOA official told PTI.

"Moreover, the organisers of National Games in Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya will also make their presentations," he added.

Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya have been allotted the National Games in 2019, 2020 and 2022 respectively.

IOA President Narinder Batra had told visiting International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in April that it wants to host the 2026 Youth Olympics, 2032 Summer Olympics and 2030 Asian Games. The IOA Executive Council is expected to approve these proposals so that the matter can be taken up with the government.

The IOA also wants to host the IOC Congress in 2021 and the Executive Council is expected to approve the proposal.

"It (the Congress) is a prestigious event in the calendar of IOC and we want to host it. The Executive Council will have to approve the proposal first before we convey our formal bid to the IOC," the official said.