The athletes dazzled, excelled and they won medals in the multi-discipline National Games held in multiple venues across the state. Away from the glare of cameras, the organizational side of the Games stood out in some aspects but was found lacking in other areas where the organizers need to tighten the belt.
The National Games gave a platform for Goan athletes to shine and excel. A hiccup here and there was but natural, the way the whole thing was handled.
The major drawback of the Goa government was giving lock, stock and barrel control to the event management companies which was very much evident in most aspects of the games.
Thomas Cook with some 270-odd personnel drawn from various states helped in the logistics of transportation, food and accommodation and did a good job.
But a few other agencies were left lacking on many fronts. The apparent lack of coordination between the Event management companies and Goa government officials was clearly evident on the ground.
The Goa government appointed Venue Commandants and Deputy Venue Commandants, who got the charge of the venue a couple of days before the events, and thus had to make some last minute parking arrangements in and around the venue, and many a vehicle got stuck in the moist mud in some of the venues in South Goa. The catch however was on the field of play control which was left with the Venue Manager of the Event Management Company.
Goa excelled on the sporting front in some disciplines and in some they were found wanting. In some disciplines, Goa preferred to go with home grown talent, while in others the State went in for the outstation players to strengthen and to increase their chances of winning medals.
Football and Beach Soccer along with tennis were some disciplines held in South Goa which relied on home grown talent to give exposure to the young talent and groom them for further events. In Beach Soccer, in spite of Goa having no league, they managed to get a combination in place which got them the silver medal.
The Bruno Coutinho-coach side was put in place via selection and some soccer officials opined that a Beach Soccer Goa League will go a long way in grooming and showcasing new talent and taking them to new heights. The organization of Beach Soccer at Colva Beach saw a large turnout in terms of crowd and Goa Football Association is planning to have more events and with the fans coming out in large numbers, some prospective sponsors will be more than happy to tie up with upcoming events. More crowds mean more mileage for the companies and products.
But where Beach Soccer excelled, Football men’s and women’s teams failed to make it past the group stage.
For the men’s team, lack of a player's pool from Indian Super League and I league clubs and also from the top clubs like Dempo Sports and Sporting Clube De Goa did not help matters.
On the organization front, the Goan men’s Football team had to shift from the assigned hotel due to a lack of adequate space for its players to rest and sleep comfortably.
That clearly shows the lack of coordination between the organizers and the team officials besides lack of foresight in arranging the accommodation for the players. There was no one to address the Football team’s grievances and to rectify the situation leading to the Goa men’s team moving from a Margao hotel to a Benaulim hotel.
On the Beach Soccer front, the marking of field of play was left to the match officials with organizers not seeking help from the Goa Football Association as a result the Competition Manager from AIFF had to turn to match officials for last minute solutions. In the same discipline, the Venue Managers of Sports For All Event management firm handling of the situation was far from satisfactory, and they seemed to consistently and blatantly ignoring the instructions of the competition manager.
One such thing which caught the attention was the non-usage of sand levelling tools during the matches and with airing of matches on TV all over the country, field personnel seen levelling the sand with their feet was a sorry sight. The handling of the media affairs for field of play access for accredited media left a lot to be desired and which created a few problems for photographers and videographers.
Ideally, there should have been a press committee formed to put all the press matters in perspective. A committee consisting of personnel from print, TV, radio and internet to streamline the necessities and put all suggestions in the organizers domain, so as to prevent the hiccups which followed for the lack of field play access for photographers and videographers.
The instructions for photographers and videographers came after a few days into the event, when ideally the instructions for the cameramen should have been passed on to them at the outset when handing the bibs at a designated time and day.
One thing which the media solely rely on with connecting to the outside world, the internet, did not face any problems save for a problem at a few venues, otherwise the speed was top notch.
On the whole, Goa did a good job but there are a few key elements which the State needs to work on if they need to meet international standards and if they intend to be part of India’s great plan to host the 2030 Olympics.
The National Games in Goa turned out to be a good learning experience but the State needs to tighten the loose ends and set a benchmark for future events. The multi-discipline event was a test-by-fire preparation ground for a much bigger sporting event. Another area was coordination and interaction between the various entities which was found lacking. Hopefully there will be a major turnaround when Goa hosts their next big sporting event.
