Govt proposes to postpone SA Games

Kathmandu, October 28

The meeting of 13th South Asian Games Preparation and Management Committee today decided to postpone the regional sporting extravaganza by six months and host it in September next year.

The meeting, chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Jagat Bahadur Sunar, proposed the new dates and decided to write to the concerned authorities for approval. The South Asian Olympic Council is the governing body of the regional games and Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha is the current chief of the body.

Nepal had received the SAOC flag as the host of the 13th edition during the closing ceremony of the 12th SA Games in Guwahati, India in 2016. Nepal was supposed to host the Games in 2018 but the first meeting of SAOC held in December 2016 agreed to organise the biennial multi-sport event from March 9-19, 2019. The SAOC has also finalised 28 sports disciplines for the 13th edition of the Games.

The meeting also formed nine sub-committees and nominated convenors. Tej Gurung will head the accommodation management sub-committee, while Shiva Koirala got the responsibilities of vehicle management. Likewise, Bigyan Raj Sharma is the convenor of security sub-committee and Tashi Ghale will lead the venue preparation body. Similarly, MoYS joint-secretary Ana Prasad Neupane will lead the manual and working procedures preparation sub-committee.

Mayors Bidhya Sundar Shakya (Kathmandu), Chiri Babu Maharjan (Lalitpur) and Man Bahadur GC (Pokhara) will head the resources mobilization and coordination sub-committees in their respective cities, while National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista has been nominated as the convenor of two sub-committees which will be responsible of recommending Mascot, Logo, Song and Slogan of the Games and preparation of budget.