November 2013 is just 13 months away, and there is growingconcern on whether the infrastructure for the Lusofonia Games will be ready ontime. In July, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar claimed in the Assembly that theinfrastructure would be ready well before the games. However, with the delay infinishing the tendering work, the completion date could go beyond the schedule.
It seemed that the government was going in the rightdirection, judging by their declarations during the monsoon assembly session. But,given that even the tendering procedure hasn’t yet been completed, the gamesare looking less likely to happen.
The Goa Athletic Association is one of the participatingbodies, with athletics listed as one of the disciplines in the Lusofonia Games.The association is keyed up on its par,t but infrastructure remains a worry,admits secretary Mario Moraes. "We are little worried since the time-frameis very short, and still, we (government) have not started work on theathletics synthetic track" said Mario. The association has finalised theteam composition for the Lusofonia Games. "We will have 50 per centathletes from the Indian juniors camp while the rest of the squad will consistof athletes from the state" revealed Mario.
"As far as the organisational part is concerned, wewill request the government to include at least 80 per cent of technicalofficials and volunteers from our state so that our athletics administratorsget proper experience in conducting international events" he added.
Recently a delegation of officials from CWG Delhi organisingcommittee, had visited Goa and interacted with the Government and sportsassociation officials involved in organising the Lusofonia Games 2013.According to sources, the visiting delegation was doubtful if theinfrastructure could be completed on time.
Meanwhile, Goan athletes have to practice in toughconditions and hence, they come up short when pitted against athletes fromstates that have sound infrastructure. Nevertheless, there are some talentedyoung athletes coming up. At the recent inter-zonal events, Tanvi Vargaokar andKajal Verekar finished amongst the medals. There are intensive camps planned bythe Goa Athletic Association in the run-up to the Lusofonia Games, and buddingstate athletes can look forward to training in the best facilities available inPune or Bangalore.
