New Delhi, The fate of the much delayed 36th National Games has been thrown into disarray once again. The Goa government on Thursday announced that it has decided to indefinitely postpone the Games due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"National Games organizing committee has decided to postpone National Games due to Covid19 pandemic," said Goa Deputy Chief Minister and Sports Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar in a statement.

Ajgaonkar further said that the committee will hold a meeting late September to decide on new dates for the event. He also said that the state government will take advise from the Union Sports Ministry and "need four months advance notice" to organise the Games. The event was originally scheduled to be held from October 20 to November 4.

The last edition of the National Games was held in 2011 in Jharkhand. Originally scheduled to be held in November 2016, the 36th National Games has gone through a series of delays and postponement which included a shift away from Goa and back to the state.

Earlier, IOA President Narinder Batra had expressed hope that the Games will be held as scheduled.

The launch event of the 36th National Games Goa was held on January 31. "I hope the Games which will be held from 20 October to 4 November 2020 will reinvigorate the entire Indian sporting community and provide the Tokyo bound athletes a high level of competition at home," Batra had written in IOA's newsletter.