Lalit Bhanot may sit in Delhi but his shadow is certainlyfalling over the Lusofonia games scheduled to take place in Goa over 2000 kmsaway. With the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association by theInternational Olympic Committee questions have arisen over the holding of thegames.
Elvis Gomes, Executive Director, SAG revealed that Acolop (The parent body in Portugal) had contacted him earlier in the week followingthe suspension and informed him that they would “wait and watch the situation”as it develops. With regards to the preparations for the games, he said it wason schedule. “The contracts were released earlier this week and work hascommenced. We visited Macau and met with the members of Acolop and providedthem with details of the pace of our preparations. They will visit the state inAugust.”
Asked if the ban on the Indian Olympic Association couldaffect the games he said “Well by the time the games come, this problem shouldbe sorted out.” Asked what if it was not sorted by then, Elvis admitted itcould lead to problems, especially for the training personnel of the foreignteams who would be coming over for the games. He emphasised that India was abig country and not some small nation that could be pressurised. “A suitablesolution would emerge,” he said.
Gurudatta Bhakta, the Secretary General of the Goa OlympicAssociation said the suspension would not change the situation. He said “Thegames will go on as scheduled. There will be no delay. The Lusofonia games is aregular international event. Our preparations are on as per schedule.”
