SAF Games: the ball is in MEA's court

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 22. India's participation in the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games, scheduled to be held in Islamabad from October 6 to 16, will depend on the clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Considering the situation that prevails in the sub- continent and possible military strikes by U.S.-led forces on Afghanistan, the Union Ministry of Sports has sought the advice of the MEA on India's participation in the Games.

``We want to participate in the SAF Games, but in the present situation the idea seems far-fetched,'' the Sports Minister, Ms. Uma Bharti, said on Saturday. ``We have sought advice from the MEA and their decision is expected by Monday,'' she said.

While the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has so far maintained that the SAF Games is on, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has found itself answering queries from the rest of the SAARC countries. According to the IOA President, Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, his counterparts from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been inquiring about India's position on participation in the SAF Games.

Only two days ago, Mr. Kalmadi had said that India would be participating in the SAF Games, if the Games was to go on. He had also mentioned at that time that the necessary clearance from the Government had already been received. Probably, he was talking about the clearance received before the terrorist strikes in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Sports Minister said that in the current situation, the Government would not be able to clear the new dates proposed for the Afro-Asian Games. The IOA, on Friday, had proposed that the Games be held from March 24 to April 2 next year, after consulting with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).

``The confirmation of the new dates for the Afro-Asian Games will depend on how the security scenario develops in the next couple of months,'' Ms. Bharti said.

Even as the Afro-Asian Games stands postponed, the deadline to make the infrastructure ready remains September 30, Ms. Bharti said.

The Minister said that with some breathing time available now, the infrastructure would be tested by holding ``trial games'' at the concerned venues in the eight disciplines using all the technical back-up being acquired for AAG.

The Executive Board of the Afro-Asian Games Organising Committee (AAGOC), will meet here on October 11 to work out the modalities for the trial games.

The trial games would be conducted on a separate budget, mostly through sponsorships, as the idea is to not touch the funds meant for the Afro-Asian Games.

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