Two international boat championships to be held in MP called off

BHOPAL: The World Dragon Boat Championship and Asian Dragon Boat Championships, scheduled to be organised in Madhya Pradesh in November this year, have been cancelled due to Covid-19. Officials claimed that MP has suffered a loss of Rs 25 crore and requested the state government to help bring back the championship to the state.
ICF World Dragon Boat Championships was to be held from November 12 to 15 while Asian Dragon Boat Championships 2020 was scheduled from November 16 to 18.Both championships were to be organised in Indore. IKCA, Indore Municipal Corporation, MP Kayaking and Canoeing Association and the MP government had started preparations for the past one year by procuring different motorboats.
The importance of the championship could be gauged from the fact that around 1,500 athletes, officials and others were expected to participate from 40-45 countries.
“This is undoubtedly a big loss for Madhya Pradesh. Around Rs 25 crore would have been contributed to the state economy by hotel bookings, transport and others.
As of now, the championship is not allotted to any other country. We request the MP government to help us in bringing back the championship to the state,” said Prashant Kushwaha, secretary-general IKCA.
Executive member, Madhya Pradesh Olympic Association, BS Kushwaha, posted on his social media account about the heavy losses incurred due to the cancellation of the championship. “IKCA paid the bid fee to the International Canoeing Federation and called a meeting of experts and technical officials from USA, Germany, Japan, Hongkong and several other countries to visit the venue and inspect the infrastructure and logistics at Indore,” he said.