IOA to unveil National Games schedule this week

Thiruvananthapuram: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is set to announce the schedule of the 35th National Games next week.

President of IOA, N Ramachandran, would announce the dates of the event at a special function in the Lembers` Lounge of the Kerala Assembly on June 26, state Information Minister K C Joseph and former DGO and organising committee secretary general Jacon Punnose said here today. The 35th National Games will be held in Kerala early next year. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbananda Sonowal, state Sports Minister Thiruvananchur Radhakrishnan, Kerala Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan and Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan would attend the function. Though the state had proposed mid-January as the tentative schedule for the event, it was for the IOA to take the final call and unveil the games` schedule, Punnose said duringan interaction with the journalists here. The event would be held in 32 venues spread around seven districts, though more than 50 per cent of the event would take place in the state capital and suburbs, he said. The development of stadia and other infrastructure for the event was in final stages of completion, he said. It is after a quarter century that the National Games is coming to Kerala as the state last hosted the event way back in 1987. The whole event has been planned in an eco-friendly manner and so great emphasis would be made on its conduct without causing any harm to the environment, Punnose added.